What we do for family
by DreamOfStories
Summary: Instead of putting Dawn with Buffy they put her with Buffy's real father... a Colonel Jack O'Neill. Buffy and the Scoobies move Dawn to protect her from Glory, but SG1 might just have something to say about that... WIP
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy or any of the other characters in that or any other show on TV

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy or any of the other characters in that or any other show on TV. Maybe when I'm older and rich... and succesful...

**Chapter 1**

It was winter in Colorado. Snow was scheduled for the next few days, and the familiar sharpness was already filling the air. Dawn and Cassie, dressed in long warm coats and carrying their school bags, were laughing as they rounded the corner home. Jack and the others were away on another mission and Dawn was to stay at Janet's house with her best friend. The next morning, they were planning to go Christmas shopping and hopefully get their presents sorted for the team before they came back. However, it was not to be.

Around the corner, there waited five young adults. All of them were wrapped up warm - warmer than Dawn and Cassie and it was as if they felt the cold much easier. They also seemed to be waiting for somebody.

At first, Dawn and Cassie planned to walk straight past them. There was nothing to indicate they might be waiting for the girls, and nothing to indicate that anything might be wrong or that they were interested in the pair at all. It was only when one of the young men, a male with messy brown hair and a smile, stepped out in front of their path that they thought about moving around.

Only to find they couldn't. The two young girls were surrounded. Instinctively, Dawn stepped in front of Cassie, putting herself between the younger girl and the messy-haired male and settling into a defensive stance.

"We just want to go home OK… so if you could just step out the way no one has to get hurt."

The others laughed, before a pale man sporting an out of date Billy-idol look spoke up. "I wish it was that simple little bit, sadly it's not. You've got to come with us."

He spoke with a lower class British accent and swallowing slightly, Dawn pressed the speed-dial on the mobile her Dad had got her last year. It would connect directly to the SGC's emergency line.

"Your friend the alien can go though. We're not interested in her." He allowed with what he probably thought was a kind smile. Cassie just thought it was creepy.

Dawn frowned. She had found out Cassie was an alien after the pair had been kidnapped by the NID the year Cassie had come to Earth, and she knew damn well that people were never interested in her. She was earth born and bred - no different from any other teenager. "You want me?"

A young woman with dark hair let out a beaming smile. "Yes we do little human girl. Do not worry, we will not hurt you. I have brought cookies and milk and we can eat them as we wait for the others to finish their completely not dangerous and safe business."

Dawn glanced over at Cassie who was looking slightly nervous. "Well that's all very good but we have to be going, me and Cassie have the whole night all planned out and we have important stuff to do tomorrow…"

The smallest female, her hair dyed blonde and the picture of a Californian bimbo snorted. "Let me guess you're going to paint each others nails and gossip about the new boy at school who just happens to be a spy for a bunch of people who want to rip you into shreds." She rolled her eyes, and then stared appraisingly at the two girls. "Take my advice, stay away from him."

Another female, a red headed young woman, chuckled nervously. "Ignore her; she tends to get paranoid about these things."

The messy haired young man snorted. "When every single date you get tries to eat you or sell you on the black market you'd turn cynical too."

Dawn and Cassie turned to stare at him. He shrugged. "What? It's a fact of life - particularly when you're living on the Boca de Infierno."

A faint growl from the Billy-Idol look alike caused the two girls to jump slightly. "Enough of this. Little Alien, run along home, Dawn - you're coming with us." Reaching out, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him, ignoring the protests of his companions.

Cassie glanced at Dawn, torn. Dawn nodded encouragingly and Cassie walked nervously towards the edge of the circle - glancing back frequently. When the two females moved aside to let her past without any hesitation, she stopped and gazed back at Dawn torn, before turning and running towards home. There was no way she would be there in time to get help, but she was going to try. She wouldn't abandon her friend without trying something - even if there was nothing she could do personally.

"Right then little bit, you can come quietly, or we can knock you out and carry you. It's your choice." The British sounding one stated, his eyes watching her like she was a particularly interesting specimen. He wasn't the only one - the blonde was watching her with interest too as was the rest of the group.

Dawn snorted. "What sort of choice is that? Besides, I make it a habit never to go anywhere with strangers and I don't even know your names. But seriously, that whole Billy Idol look? Please!"

The man scowled, before glancing over at the blonde fondly who shook her head with amusement. "Right little Spitfire we got here, hey?" He glanced at Dawn, the annoyance replaced with amusement. "I'm William, Blondie here is Anne, the whelp is Tony, the red head is Red and the cookies and milk person is Jen. So now you know our names, we're not strangers…"

He stopped and Dawn examined his expression curiously. It was almost a distant look, but strangely focused at the same time. Turning to look at the others she noticed they were all suddenly on alert too. The blonde, Anne, and William were both looking around, as if scenting the air. Dawn swallowed as the others moved closer in, forming a wall around her. Something was up.

"How many?" 'Tony' asked. The carefree - almost clownish - young man was gone replaced by someone who could quite easily be ex-black ops like her dad.

"I get at least eight but no more than fourteen." Anne stated, shifting into a stance that looked a strange mixture of relaxed and dangerous. It screamed confidence and Dawn was given the impression not to ever underestimate this woman before her. "You lot get Dawn out of here. William and me can take them."

Red frowned. "You sure? They're not like the usual minions - these ones actually want to live. They'll be more careful."

Anne glared at her. "The day I can't take twenty…" she paused and glanced at Dawn, her glare softening slightly. "We'll be fine. Go and get her somewhere safe."

William nodded, his eyes flashing golden for a second causing Dawn to take a step back with a small gasp of shock. Remembering her phone and the connection to the SGC, she choked out, "Your eyes… they flashed yellow."

The British sounding man nodded in a condescending man as if it was an everyday occurrence that she should be used to. "Of course they did bit, but don't worry I ain't interested in you."

Tony slapped him around the head and gained himself a disgruntled look. "Leave the kid alone…"

He was interrupted when eleven shadowy forms stepped out of the shadows. The leader moved forward, his voice a low growl. "Tell you what, you give us the Key, and we'll let you walk away. You be able to enjoy your last months of freedom before your world's crushed and after… well, maybe the Great Goddess Glorificus will let you fight in an arena for her amusement or something instead of just killing you out of hand…"

The blonde snorted. "Been there done that - so not fun. So you can tell your goddess to go to Hell… Oh! I forgot, she can't 'cause we have her precious little Key don't we?"

The leader growled in anger, his cocky attitude dropped. "Give us the Key and we'll let you all go free. This is your last warning."

"Little Dawn is staying with us. Go find someone else to destroy the world with." Tony commented off handedly taking Dawn by the shoulders and stepping back with her, Red and Jen flanking him and obviously prepared for a fight "We got her first."

Dawn twisted out of his grip angrily, glaring at them all. "The whole lot of you are nuts you know that? Just let m…" Anne glanced at her, then at Tony. Dawn had time to notice a fist swinging at her at impossible speeds before she collapsed into Tony's arms. She didn't even get a chance to finish her sentence. The last thing she saw was everything fading to black. She gave one last twist, but she was out of it before she could do anything. Her last thought was that she hoped Cassie was safe.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Hi people, this is a slightly improved version of my first attempt that i psoted elsewhere. I thought, new version - new site - why not? That's why its here. Those of you who are impatient though, you can find it on the TTH site.

**The Gandhara: **More back story will be coming, but none in this story, if you get my meaning... I want to finish it first and then I'll look at sequals and prequals... There will be hints though, so kepe any eye out for them.

-

**Chapter 2**

Jack felt stiff. It had been a fairly quiet trip if you ignored the millions of insects that seemed to have taken a liking to his ears - and Danny tripping over again and banging his knee up.

"When will you learn to look where you're going?" He moaned to his archaeologist as the man dialed the gate. "I mean, you never trip when we're running from something or when there's a hoard of Jaffa on our heels…."

Daniel rolled his eyes, and waited for the GDO to register. "I don't do it on purpose Jack." He commented, rubbing his sore knee. "Have you decided what to get Dawn for Christmas yet?"

Jack sighed. "No - I think I'm going to have to ask Cassie. Dawn's been acting kinda strange recently."

He stepped through the gate, closely followed by the rest of his team, before stopping at the nervous faces of the gate room guards. He narrowed his eyes when he saw the solemn look on the General's face. His CO was waiting for them as usual - but he didn't have the relieved look he normally had when they all came through on time and with no obvious injuries. He seemed… concerned. Something had happened. "OK, what's going on?"

General Hammond looked down briefly before looking the Colonel straight in the eye. "I believe this would be best discussed in the briefing room. Does SG1 have anything urgent to report?"

"No. Danny found nothing, Carter found nothing, and I learned that alien midges have a thing for my ears. Nothing of any importance whatsoever - except that it is a very wet and very nasty planet." Jack commented, walking down the ramp.

"Very well, get checked out by Doctor Frasier, changed into some clean clothes and then come straight to my office. I have some bad news for you."

Jack paused. "General?"

"Yes Colonel?"

"Is it about Cassie or Dawn?"

The General's silence was enough. Slamming his hand into a nearby wall, Jack stormed off to the infirmary, his team following behind him throwing worried and uncertain looks in the General's direction. This day was rapidly getting better and better.

After a nurse had given them their post-mission check-up - not Janet which Jack found even more worrying - he headed straight up to the briefing room, closely followed by SG1. He wanted answers.

"What's going on, Sir?"

General Hammond looked up from a pile of reports. "I am sorry to say that Dawn O'Neill was kidnapped on the way home from school early last night. She called the hotline and we have a recording of the conversation. The labs have improved the quality but what is most worrying is that the kidnappers showed a lot of knowledge about the SGC and Cassie's status as an alien, but despite that was still more interested in Dawn."

Jack slumped into a chair - his face pale. "Didn't we send anyone? What about the response teams? I made sure she knew the emergency number off by heart and she had her mobile on her."

"They arrived too late. By the time they got there, the only things in the alley to show that anything unusual had happened were eleven piles of dust. We believe them to be the remains of a second group who also tried to kidnap Dawn - apparently believing her to be something called a 'Key'. Two members of the first group succeeded in wiping out the second group while their companions removed Dawn O'Neill to a second unknown location." He gazed at Jack, his eyes solemn. "I'm sorry Jack, but we can't find any trace of them. All we have are Cassie's descriptions which are vague at best giving her shock and unease at the time and the recording from the phone call. We don't even have any real names - just their aliases."

Jack glared at him, ignoring the pitying looks the others were sending him. "Well can we at least hear the recording? Maybe there's something that the team missed?"

General Hammond sighed. "There's something else, Jack. I wouldn't mention it but you don't deserve to have it sprung on you like this… We may be looking at a foothold situation… and one of the young women who took Dawn indirectly claimed to be your daughter."

Jack collapsed back into his chair, looking incredulous. "What?"

"This was after Dawn had been removed from the scene. According to the recording, they did not want us to know about it… but apparently it's how they located Dawn and you. They used some and I quote 'really nasty ritual thing' to find any possible blood relatives of their team leader."

Turning to a small tape recorder on the table he pressed play and as the sounds of Dawn's conversation echoed into the room, Jack leaned forward, his eyes fixed on the small machine.

"Your friend the alien can go though. We're not interested in her."

"You want me?" Dawn's voice questioned skeptically.

"Yes we do little human girl. Do not worry, we will not hurt you. I have brought cookies and milk and we can eat them as we wait for the others to finish their completely not dangerous and safe business."

"Well that's all very good but we have to be going, me and Cassie have the whole night all planned out and we have important stuff to do tomorrow…" Dawn continued; her tone that of someone struggling not to laugh. Jack gave a small smile. That was his Dawn - a real smart ass in a pinch.

"Let me guess you're going to paint each others nails and gossip about the new boy at school who just happens to be a spy for a bunch of people who want to rip you into shreds. Take my advice, stay away from him." This voice was soft, and reminded Jack of something, but he was too fixed on the weary tone to remember what it was. She sounded almost like a war veteran - one that had been through far too much and just wanted to give up but was pushing on for some unknown reason.

"Ignore her; she tends to get paranoid about these things." A nervous voice interrupted, it was soft and friendly, and the sort of voice you would usually instinctively trust.

"When every single date you get tries to eat you or sell you on the black market you'd turn cynical too." This one had an ironic tone to it. Daniel imagined that he looked over at the bitter and weary sounding speaker and shared a look as he said it, but he shrugged it off to focus on the place he had just heard mentioned. The Mouth of Hell? Where had he heard that name used in reference to before?

There was the sound of a growl from the tape recorder. "Enough of this. Little Alien, run along home, Dawn - you're coming with us." A few seconds later he continued, "Right then little bit, you can come quietly, or we can knock you out and carry you. It's your choice."

Jack, his face cold and blank, listened to the unknown people who had kidnapped his daughter. She was doing what he'd taught her, trying to get as much information for the people on the other end of the phone as possible, and delay them long enough for help to get there. But then, when he heard his daughter gasp in surprise, he stiffened and stared at the tape machine as if willing himself to see through it, into the past and onto the street where she had been taken from him.

"Your eyes… they flashed yellow." SG1 frowned, they knew of only one thing that could be described as having flashing yellow eyes and those things were not nice. If Dawn said his eyes had flashed, they probably had and that opened a whole new can of worms.

"Of course they did bit, but don't worry I ain't interested in you." The possible Goa'uld stated calmly.

The voice of the man introduced as Tony started to reprimand him. "Leave the kid alone…"

Then another voice joined the group, this one having a low gravely tone to it. "Tell you what, you give us the Key, and we'll let you walk away. You be able to enjoy your last months of freedom before your world's crushed and after… well, maybe the Great Goddess Glorificus will let you fight in an arena for her amusement or something instead of just killing you out of hand…"

Daniel shared a look with Sam as Jack's face contorted into a snarl. There was no doubt in his mind anymore that the Goa'uld were behind this and if there was one thing Jack hated more than anything else, it was the evil snakes.

The female named Anne snorted. "Been there done that - so not fun. So you can tell your goddess to go to Hell… Oh! I forgot, she can't 'cause we have her precious little Key don't we?"

The leader of the opposing team growled menacingly. "Give us the Key and we'll let you all go free. This is your last warning."

"Little Dawn is staying with us. Go find someone else to destroy the world with." 'Tony' commented casually. "We got her first."

Jack's hands screwed up into tightly balled fists. He had a half hope that the two groups would attack each other, but he had a feeling that it would be worse if that happened. The first bunch seemed more interested in hiding her away - but the second… they wanted to hand her over to this Glory creature.

Dawn's voice came again, still defiant. "The whole lot of you are nuts you know that? Just let m…"

Jack felt his heart stop as he heard his daughter's voice cut off suddenly. There was a bang at almost the same time as something, presumably the phone, fell to the floor. Then 'Anne's' voice was back. "Xan, you and the girls take her to Giles. OK? We'll clear up here."

The voice of the opposite group's leader chuckled. "You think you can take us human girl? You and your pet will make a lovely offering to our Goddess, and then we will take the Key from your friends and feast on their corpses. It is a pity the Goddess demanded that we do not drink from the Key… not a drop can be wasted before she is bled dry… but there are other ways we can have our fun. I wonder if she will be as good… fun… as…"

Jack allowed an expression of revulsion to cross his face as 'Anne' interrupted him with a cold laugh. "Human? I haven't been considered human in years. Ask the Army." He glanced at General Hammond to see if he had checked up on that route. The man simply waved for him to finish listening.

Growls rang out from the strangers and the listeners heard a strangled gasp that was cut off too quickly. "Last chance, go back and tell Glorificus that she lays a hand on any of my family, natural or not, then I will personally make sure that she returns to her brothers in pieces."

"We will tell her that as we offer her your body, Slayer!" Another new voice called out.

"Looks like they finally caught on, Love." 'William' commented. "But nope - still not running." He laughed. "I feel like a fight, my Love, how about you? Burn off some of that anger?"

"Shut it, Spike." Anne commanded, and Jack brightened over the 'nick-name'. How many young adult British nationals in Colorado could have that for a nickname? Add it to the description from Cassie and it was practically an ID. In the background, there was the sound of growls, yelps and strange swoosh sounds.

"Hey - save some for me!" Spike called out, his British voice having the same growly quality as the others.

Jack growled softly when silence finally fell. "So Anne and her crew won, but what about…" he was interrupted when the British man spoke again, his voice now normal again.

"So feeling better?"

'Anne' snorted. "Better? You think a little fight would make me feel better?"

There was a rustle of clothing. "Well, I understand it's been a hard two weeks…"

Anne let out an incredulous laugh. "Hard? I found out that a bunch of monks stole my DNA to create a human form to hide something capable of destroying universes and then sent it to my dad - who by the way is not who I thought my dad was - and then told me that I have to track her down and protect her! Of course, the head monk guy doesn't have time to tell me where he is due to the fact he's dying from torture, so I have to undergo some really nasty ritual thing to locate all my blood relatives and then get Wills to hack into some top-secret military computers to find out where exactly my Dad lives! Which isn't simple even then, because it turns out he's on a super-secret project to do with meeting aliens through a giant ring!"

Jack leaned back shocked. It was clear from the quality of the sound that while they were at the limits of the cell phone's range, she actually believed what was said. Add in their knowledge of the Stargate and things were not looking good. And what about the claim she was his daughter?

The British sounding man hesitated. "Hey, hey. They don't know about us. They don't know about the things that go bump and the things that go bump don't know about them. When this is over we can go away and they'll be safe… everything will go back to normal."

Anne chuckled bitterly. "Normal? I haven't been normal since I turned fifteen. And you know what's worse? I used to dream about having a Dad who would care and would be there… and now I find I had one all along but I didn't know and he didn't know and…" she started to cry.

Despite himself, Jack felt a tiny fragment of pity stir in him for this unknown girl who believed she was his daughter, but then he thought of his Dawn and how she must be feeling and it enabled him to crush any pity down. These people had taken his little girl! They had taken his Dawnie! They didn't deserve any pity.

"Ssh. We won't tell them and they won't ever need to know. We can move on forget about this…" He hesitated. "The cavalry's coming, Slayer and even Captain Cardboard might have trouble getting you out of the hole the flyboys will throw you into for having the kid of one of their own nicked."

Anne gave a watery laugh. "Fine, come on then. We'll head back to base - make sure Anya hasn't corrupted my little sis beyond fixing yet."

Spike, his footsteps pausing, in the alley, frowned. "Slayer, you hear that humming sound?"

Jack held his breath. Waiting to see what would happen next. The faint voice, moving away caused him to sigh and lean back in disappointment. "Looks like Dawn or Cassie's mobile got dropped. We'll leave it. The SGC will get it for them."

Then the two sets of footsteps faded out and General Hammond leaned forward to turn it off. He turned to gaze at SG1 who looked angry and shocked. Poor Jack looked like he was warring between the need to get up and tear out to the place he last knew his daughter was and the desire to sit there in shock and anger from the fact that someone would take his child.


	3. Chapter 3

**INFORMATION:**

There will be some references from now on about the ghost roads. This basically refers to the space between dimensions where souls wonder about before they can move on. They have the appearance of a blank white misty area and only supernatural people or humans that have undergone a specific ritual can travel them. They travel by focusing on the destination and walking forward until an exit appears. This comes up in the Gatekeepers trilogy by Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder. It is also similar to that place in 'Queen of Slayers' where Xander is attacked by skeletons and meets the past slayers. Not canon I know, but I'm using it anyway.

**Chapter 3**

Buffy stormed into the small cave system they were using as a temporary base in case the Air Force tracked them to Sunnydale. Gone was the fragile young woman who had cried in Spike's arms. Now there was only the Slayer. Her friend's didn't comment on it as they sat around eating cake with Dawn, knowing that it was a defence mechanism against what they were doing, but Dawn didn't know better. All she saw was a young blonde woman who had the same air of arrogance as a Tok'ra and who had been able to sense hostiles coming long before her companions. Knowing what her Dad dealt with and she was just a little bit suspicious.

"What are you?"

Buffy turned to gaze at Dawn. "My DNA says I'm human." She said flatly. "If you want to believe something else, fine, but keep your thoughts to yourself - clear?"

Dawn hesitated, her eyes gazing into Buffy's, before she was forced to look away. "I understand."

She watched as some of the tension that had been in Buffy slid out and the woman let out a small friendly smile. "So, you want to play a videogame or something? I'm sure Tony would be happy to show you where they're kept."

'Tony' nodded. "Yeah, I mean there's not much else for me to do and…" he glanced at Willow who was gazing steadily at him. "In fact, we had a portable TV with a Play Station 2 set up in the other room for you to have a look at and I can tell you that…"

Dawn stared at them in shock with a tiny bit of contempt mixed in. "You really think I'll just let you send me off to play video games when you want to talk? Why aren't you just knocking me out again?"

Buffy sighed. "Look, if there was another way, we would have taken it. Besides, I only knocked you out before because we couldn't risk you putting up a fight while we were distracted. We aren't going to let you leave here and so you're stuck with us for the next few days. If letting you play games and eat cake will keep you happy - fine."

"The cake was my idea!" Anya interrupted cheerily. "I have heard that a good way to occupy little children is to give them milk and cookies so they fall asleep. You are not a little child so I thought it would be better to give you cake and lemonade instead."

Buffy and the others smiled indulgently at her while Dawn just stared. "So um… are you human as well? Just… I didn't think anyone talked like that."

Anya smiled. "You are a very curious child and that is the sign of a healthy mind, so I will forgive your impudent question. I am indeed human!" Humming happily, she headed off to the area that had clearly been put aside for supplies.

Dawn opened her mouth to comment on what 'Jen' had said, when Xander tapped her on the shoulder. "Dawn - I know this must all be a bit odd and scary for you, but a word of advice - the less you ask about what certain members of our group are, the happier you'll be. Only one person here doesn't consider themselves human and implying that's not true will make them cranky - OK? Jen in particular doesn't like it."

Dawn closed her mouth before nodding. She wasn't stupid enough to give these idiots the impression that she was going to cause trouble… well, not anymore than she already had. "Can you at least tell me what's going on and why you kidnapped me?"

Xander hesitated and then glanced at the others. When they nodded one by one, he stood. "Come and sit with me in the other room and I'll tell you what I can."

As soon as Dawn was gone, Buffy seemed to deflate and collapsed onto one of the chairs in the room. Willow, worried for her friend, came over. "How are you doing, Buffy? I mean I know up 'til now it's been a bit theoretical about your new family and stuff but…" She fell silent, gazing at her friend worriedly.

"Tired... and I've got a headache…"

Willow sighed. "Everything will be OK, Buffy." She patted her friend's hand. "I'm going to check on Tara. See if she needs anything. The Knights shouldn't have been able to track us here, but, just in case, I'm going to put some more wards up. You and Spike should go to the shops and pick up some more food and stuff for Dawn."

Buffy sighed. "Sure, in a minute, I just need to get over the whole Dad thing. Why didn't Mom tell me? He seems like a nice person… I would have liked to meet him."

"Maybe she didn't want you hurt," Willow commented softly to herself as she walked slowly towards Tara's room. "I know I wouldn't have said anything."

Buffy made no comment, but Willow knew that with her friend's hearing she should have had no trouble picking up her comment. Instead, she passed Spike on his way up from the cooler they had put aside for him. He wiped his mouth self-consciously as she walked past. Willow ignored it. As long as it wasn't human blood he was snacking on, she could deal.

Buffy and Spike headed up the hill to where a convenient entrance to the ghost roads waited. Ever since finding out who the Key actually was and what they would have to do to protect her, they had been searching for a place that would be suitable. They finally found one when Spike mentioned an old hideout of his for when he had annoyed Dru, Darla or Angleus. It was near Loch Coire in Scotland and was surrounded by open land, so no one could sneak up. Even better, it over sat a network of caves, the only entrance being hidden in an old manor house he owned.

It was the perfect place… except for the fact that it was over in the land of tweed. That meant an easy way to get there had to be sorted out. They couldn't use planes or ships as either way was far too easy to track, and none of them could pilot them anyway. In the end, Giles had reluctantly suggested the ghost roads and Spike had jumped on the idea. He had used them before and coupling that with the fact that five out of six of the Scoobies had done the same made it a natural choice.

Stepping into the breach, they talked over their plan. Buffy would secure some clothes and other things of Dawn's to make her stay more comfortable, while Spike would get some more food supplies at Dawn's and Xander's request. They would then meet at the Colorado breach three hours before sunrise, ready for the return home. Once home, they would have eight hours to make sure all the defences were set for that day before settling down. Willow, Giles, Xander and Anya would be able to keep Dawn safe until then and, if not, Buffy was only a phone call away. Besides, Spike had ensured that the best wards money could buy were placed on it to prevent the other members of the Scourge of Europe finding and breaking into it - then he had had the ward makers murdered. It made the place very secure.

In the briefing room, Jack and the rest of SG1 were going over the extremely limited amount of information General Hammond had managed to have gathered. Daniel was scribbling notes on a piece of paper as the others bounced ideas of one another, their minds going around in circles. Finally, Daniel cleared his throat to get their attention.

"Um… I've got a list of possible angles we can cover." He glanced down at his piece of paper as everyone turned to him. "First, they mentioned 'Wills' got access to the files. I'm sure there aren't that many with the potential to hack into the SGC and if we get them they can tell us who asked them to hack in in the first place. Also, they referred to a place nicknamed the 'Mouth of Hell', some 'monks' who protect a 'key', and the 'Goddess Glorificus' which I can research for details. Then there is the young man called 'Tony' who seemed to have had some military training at some point - in fact they all seem used to fighting, so maybe a group of mercenaries or something similar? Next, there's the mysterious 'Captain Cardboard' and the people he works for that apparently has quite a bit of political power. They might be mixed up in the Army project that encountered 'Anne' or 'Slayer'. We can look into that…" Daniel took a deep breath, before turning to Jack. "And I know how much we might not want to look at this, but Jack… you could look into if any… because if there is some way that this 'Anne' is your daughter…"

General Hammond nodded. "A good and accurate summary of what we know so far, Doctor Jackson. I take it from your comments you don't mind looking into the research part?"

Daniel nodded, "No, I don't mind and if I express an interest to the community I'm sure I can get a wide range of feedback on the subject within an hour or two - in addition to my own research, of course."

Captain Carter cleared her throat. "I can look into the hacker and see if I can find any breach in the SGC's computer security, sir. It's something I would have to do anyway and I'm pretty sure that if there is a breach I should be able to find it fairly quickly."

General Hammond nodded, before looking thoughtful. "You know I still have more than a few contacts from my days as a young officer, I can put out feelers about the Army, and this mysterious Captain. It is unlikely I'll find anything, but I can try."

Jack gave a brief nod to the General in gratitude. "And I'll look into the mercenary angle, and… the other thing." He looked down a his notes, embarrassed.

Teal'c frowned faintly as the others nodded in agreement, before seeming to shake it off as the General dismissed them. Jack left quickly, his face still slightly red, while Daniel paused to tidy up his notes. While he did so, the Jaffa waited, until they were alone.

"Yes, Teal'c?" Daniel commented as he straightened, holding his bundle to his chest.

"I am curious, Doctor Jackson, why your people have great reluctance in discussing the act of mating when your magazines and internet are full of subtle references to the action in question."

Daniel blinked, and then sighed. "It's complicated. Don't the Jaffa have things that it is considered shameful to discuss… actions that if revealed had happened would cause a loss of honour?"

Teal'c frowned again. "Your people find the ritual of mating disgraceful? Then why do they use so many references in your media?"

Daniel shook his head. "We don't find the action itself distasteful… it's more the fact of someone doing it a lot and not sticking to one person… and being loyal to them."

Teal'c nodded. "So the fact that Colonel O'Neill may have been… disloyal… is an act of shame?"

Daniel shook his head quickly. "No… no… It's more that by speaking of it we can't help but imply that it happened. There's nothing wrong with it if you haven't pledged yourself to one person but… its just one of those things."

Teal'c paused again, his facial expression giving nothing away. "Ah, I see."

Daniel blinked. "You do? That's good."

Teal'c nodded his head regally. "You do not like to talk about such things as to do so may inadvertently indicate disrespect to the person you are speaking to. It is a wise thing to do."

He turned and left he room, leaving Daniel behind him frowning slightly, before the man shrugged and followed his friend out. Hopefully that conversation would not pop back up again.

-

A/N: That was an embarrasing conversation for poor O'Neill. Still, more hints about the past will come up as we work through and I am planning a prequel called 'False Memories' sometime. You can guess what that is going to be about...

Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

When Jack reached his house, he slammed the door behind him, causing the nearest window to rattle. He knew his job was dangerous - damn it! There was always the risk that he would be killed on a mission and that Dawn wouldn't have a Dad anymore… but it was important stuff. He couldn't give it up… and Dawn… she was safe here, happy and well. He went out there and fought so that his daughter would be kept safe from all the terrible things that roamed the galaxy ready to swoop down and turn her into a slave… or a host for the Goa'uld… or something worse. That was why he went out through the Stargate instead of staying at home; why he did everything he could to ensure that every mission was a success.

Now she had been hurt. She had been taken from him when she should have been safe. But it wasn't by all that terrible darkness that was out in the galaxy. No, it was by a small group from good old Earth. A group of psychos who decided that Dawn was a mythical object created to destroy universes. Jack couldn't believe that.

Dawnie… she hated it when he called her that… his Dawnie who could barely hurt a fly. He had taught her to fight, even sent her to self defence classes as soon as she was old enough. After all, he had a lot of enemies in his past and he wanted Dawn to be able to look after herself… only it didn't really work. She was a reasonable fighter, but when it came down to it, she wasn't good. She was more like Danny, better at talking her way out of situations and then twisting people around her little finger.

Going to his fridge and grabbing a beer, he headed up to his office. He would start searching for information on these possible mercenaries, and then he'd look into his past exploits. He cursed himself as he remembered the frivolities of his youth. After each mission when he lost a friend, had a particularly bad time, or just wanted to forget, he'd go to a bar - get drunk - and then get laid. Half the time, they never even exchanged names and he'd only started growing out of that after five years…

He thought about it, trying to remember the ones he had remembered to exchange names with. There was… Martha, Honey, Bee, Rebecca, Jamie, Joyce… He groaned in frustration and turned back to the mercenary route. At least that way he didn't have to dig too far into his past - filled with missions he'd rather forget, dead comrades, and the need to get drunk.

He paused when he picked up the sound of breaking glass tinkling to the floor below the window. That sounded as if it came from Dawn's room. Standing, he hesitated before moving silently to the hallway. He really wasn't in the mood for burglars right now. Not when his daughter was missing.

-

Buffy grabbed a couple of handfuls of underwear and gazed down at the nearly full sports bag she had collected. Glancing at the chest of drawers, she spotted the photos and gave a small smile. Moving over, she grabbed a few and plunked them on top of the rest of Dawn's stuff. She was working silently and quickly, not exactly happy about breaking into her father's house. Looking around, she spotted the small stuffed figure on the edge of the bed. A photograph was next to it, face down, and Buffy picked it up, as she grabbed the figure in the other hand.

It was picture of Dawn standing at one of her Dad's famous barbecues. Someone else must have taken it because it was a picture of Jack and the rest of SG1 gathered around the barbecue as Jack helped Dawn flip the burgers. The expression of love and happiness on all their faces caused a feeling similar to that which would be caused by that of a knife twisting inside her gut. She couldn't help but drop the photograph, and in her pain, her slayer's reflexes were not quite enough to catch it. She carried the toy back to the bag and zipped it all up, moving to the window and taking one last look around the room.

"I'm sorry about all of this." She whispered, as she opened the window behind her.

"If you were really sorry, you wouldn't be doing any of this."

Buffy snapped her head up at the voice, and stared at Jack O'Neill standing in the doorway, wearing a look of hatred holding his gun aimed at her steadily. She swallowed, allowing the bag to slip off her shoulder and out of the window, hoping that the photographs would be safe inside the clothes. "No… I couldn't do that."

Jack glared at her. "Really? Why not?" His gaze flickered to the open window behind her and then back to her face. "You know what? I don't even think any of this has anything to do with this 'Goddess'. I think it has something to do with the fact that you're jealous of your 'little sister'. You think this is the perfect chance to get a little payback."

Buffy frowned. "Little sister?" she commented, tilting her head and looking like a Valley girl for a second. "What little sister?"

Jack glared at her, "You know. The one you were talking about when you and that Spike finished wiping out the other group. Got to love cell phones - particularly ones that are linked to a recording hotline."

Buffy sighed and shook her head. "You're really going to shoot me if I don't play nice?"

Jack stared at her stony gazed. "You kidnapped my daughter and I want her back."

Buffy sighed. "Fine." She put her hands up in a 'I give up' gesture. "Do you want me to face the wall?"

Jack frowned, trying to see the trick. "Nope. I think you should move over to the right and sit in the corner with your hands on your head. Then I'll call my team and we'll see what you got to say for yourself."

Buffy glanced to her left, and then her right. "My right or your right?" she asked innocently. "Because you see you're making my options really limited here. I can't tell you where Dawn is… I can't even give you clues - and I don't really want to get tortured or anything while you figure that out for yourselves… so…" she shrugged and then with a small sad smile did a back flip out the open window.

Jack cursed and rushed forward, his gun aimed at where the blonde would be if she was running to escape, and he frowned as he spotted an unmoving body on the ground below. He kept his gun trained on the blonde figure as she lay motionless and pulled out his cell from his back pocket. "Carter? This is O'Neill. One of the kidnappers just jumped out of a second floor window at my house. Can you send a security team and probably Janet as well?"

He cut off the phone before Carter could answer, keeping an eye on the body. When it hadn't moved after two minutes, he gritted his teeth and turned to run for the stairs. If the girl was dead, he wouldn't be able to get the answers he needed. He hoped she was just unconscious or at least easy for Janet to fix up. He had some questions he wanted answered and he hated interrogating prisoners that were willing to die. It made threats tend to work not well.

-

At ground level, Buffy Summers waited for the sound of the Colonel leaving the window to reach her. She wasn't sure how long she'd been playing dead, but her hand was resting on the duffel bag and she could easily grab it and make her escape, if she needed to. Now all she had to do was wait for the Colonel to come over to her, preferably before the security team he had requested, and then she could knock him out and escape. He would still have his gun, but expecting her to be unconscious or at least badly injured should ensure he kept it lowered.

Thinking back, she felt extremely pleased with her performance. As soon as she had landed, she had allowed herself to crumple to the ground, making sure she fell in reach of her bag with her face hidden from anyone looking down. She hadn't been sure that the Colonel wouldn't shoot her anyway, but he obviously didn't trust the angle, distance or the darkness. There was a good chance he would miss and hit something important and no matter what his words from earlier had been, she didn't think he'd risk killing a potential source of information until he'd finished using it.

-

Dawn was feeling frustrated. Despite her effort to be the perfect prisoner possible, apart from the necessary comments to let them know how upset she was, they had yet to leave her alone in a room with less than two people. The old man, who reminded her of Daniel, and had introduced himself as Ripper, seemed determined that she should never be left alone. Even when she had protested about wanting to use the bathroom, Red and Jen had escorted her into the cave that was set aside for that and sat on the other side of a curtain discussing the benefits of newt eyes as compared to salamander eyes. Dawn had been forced to listen to their debate (including how fourteen dollars for a handful of eyeballs was a ridiculous price) as she examined the area for a way out. There wasn't one.

Dawn had come out from behind the curtain feeling disheartened, and reluctantly allowed herself to be escorted back to the 'games' room. The other two men waited there and Tony had tried to involve her in a game of checkers as Red went to prepare food and Jen made insane comments about how she was too thin and needed to eat more.

"Can you just be quiet?!" She finally shouted. "I don't care if I'm too thin! Stop trying to sound like a mother hen! I DON'T CARE!"

They stared at her in silence for a moment before Jen shook her head sadly. "There is no need to overcompensate, little child. If you find my words offensive you should have told me and maybe asked politely for me to cease."

Dawn glared at her, out of the corner of her eyes catching Tony sniggering. "That's it, OK! I don't want to play any more of this. I just want to get out of here… or failing that… get away from you all!"

They glanced at each other, Jen looking as if she'd been kicked. "You know, Ripper; I think Dawn wants to go to bed," said Tony. "I mean it's a room of solid rock and I'm sure Red can find a way to lock it so she doesn't have to have a guard."

Dawn stared at him. Was he a potential ally in getting out of this place? "If you do, I'll be good and stay in there - promise."

They stared at her for a second then laughed. "With the people you have for family?" Ripper commented. "I'd give you four minutes before you were attempting to get out and escape."

She pouted at them. It normally reduced anyone who was watching into a pile of putty she could manipulate to her desires. "I wouldn't…"

Ripper shook his head. "Your pout is very good Dawn. But it is nowhere near as effective as your… as Anne's. Come, Tony and I will show you to your quarters. Anne and William should be back soon with some night things for you."

-

Spike rolled his eyes as he paid for the requested items. About a quarter of the bags were full of Twinkies. Xander had ordered that he get as many as possible for twenty dollars and he had did as the whelp ordered if only because it would help in keeping in the gang's good graces. After all, he didn't want them to throw him out. It would be hard to show Buffy that he had changed.

He took the change the man gave him and grabbed the bags, and then began carrying them through the streets to the Colorado breach. He sighed as he caught glimpses of the stars. He, one of the biggest big-bads Europe had ever seen, was reduced to playing shopping boy. He snorted at the irony of it. He had always done the shopping at home for his dear old mum. Later, if his dear Drusilla needed a late night snack, he'd be the one to get it. And now, Buffy's team wanted food… well, it seemed his fate in life was to be whipped by females.

He chuckled as he turned into the small alley that held the breach at the end. Then, noting that Buffy was late, he settled the bags by the front and waited. She shouldn't be too long. After all, she was only picking up some clothes and such. He sighed as he began to think over how to tell Buffy that he loved her. He still needed to do it. He sighed as the minutes trickled by and he lost track of time… What was taking Buffy so long? She should be back by now.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Just a short note to say that updates will be a bit variable for the next few days. Exam season is coming up so you know... just a quick warning if I dissapear for ages...

**Chapter 5**

Jack dashed out of the house over to where the young woman was lying. She hadn't moved from where she had landed… not that he thought she would. She had just back flipped through the window, not even looking to see what was below. He suppressed a shudder. What was wrong with her to make her suicidal? OK, maybe he shouldn't have made that comment about wanting revenge when it was obviously a sore point. It would have been better to wait until she was in an interrogation room and then say it…

Keeping his gun trained on her as he approached, he nudged her with his foot. She didn't move or give any sign that she had felt it. There wasn't even a groan. He sighed and put the gun away, making sure it was in easy reach. Then, crouching down, he checked her pulse and rolled his eyes when he found it strong and steady. Next, he gently rolled her onto her back - being careful in case she had hurt her neck - and placed his ear next to her mouth to check for breathing.

It was the moment Buffy had been waiting for. The moment his gun was pointed away from her and she sensed him crouched down close, she lashed out. Her aim was perfect and she ended up hitting him on the left temple, hard enough to stun but not enough to do any permanent damage. She jumped up as he staggered back, cursing and going for his gun, but Buffy wasn't quite ready to play dodge the bullet. Knocking it out of his hand, she waited until he was recovered and gave him a small smile.

"I really don't like guns."

Jack glared at her. She had tricked him, damn it! And how had she survived that fall without being stunned and ready to play possum? And how was she moving so smoothly without the injuries he knew she had to have? How would she have become well trained enough to not let them interfere with her? "Really? They serve a purpose."

She shook her head. "Understand this, Jack. We don't want to have to hurt you or Dawn. It's not our fault that you're mixed up in this, but…"

She dodged the kick that came at her from out of nowhere, and shook her head sadly as her attention focused on the old man she knew was her Dad. She was just in time to block a nasty punch to her gut. She blocked a few more potential hits for a little bit, before returning the punches. Inside, she was pleased at how good her father was when it came to fighting - already she had underestimated him twice allowing him to get a hit at her nose causing his knuckles to be coated in blood. Unfortunately for him, compared to a vamp he was far too slow and his punches and attacks were too weak. She sighed and then pushed the fight up a notch, sweeping his legs out from under him and knocking him to the ground. Instantly, he tried to roll over, but she was pinning him before he could do anything. He was trapped, and no matter how much he wriggled, squirmed or tried to dislodge her, she kept him pinned.

"I told you, Jack, I don't want to hurt you or Dawn. So just relax, wait a few days, and she'll be back as good as new. I promise."

Jack growled. "And the word of a kidnapper is really worth something."

He felt her tense on top of him and tried to buck, but she just tightened her grip and waited for him to stop. "When I give my word, I tend to stick to it, Jack. Otherwise things get complicated…"

Jack growled again. "We'll find her, you know. You can't keep us from her forever."

She sighed in his ear. "We don't need to keep her hidden forever. We only need three days. After that, she'll either be dead or useless to those who want her."

He felt her shift above him and felt her hand change grip slightly. Inside, he tensed. After all, to anyone else it wouldn't have meant much - but to him who had been in this situation so many times before it meant a whole lot. It meant that she was moving her grip so she could hold him with one hand, leaving a hand free to… he had to keep her distracted until the security team arrived.

"Why do you think I'm your dad?" She settled again and he felt a flash of triumph.

"Why I think you're my dad is unimportant. I am unimportant." She shifted again and Jack searched for something to comment on, to ask her about…

"Do you want to die?"

"What?" She had stiffened again, uncertain and off kilter; he could hear the unease in her voice.

"Do you want to die?"

She blinked and he could almost hear her ponder the question. "Not yet. I have a job to do. After that…" She chuckled sadly at an inside joke. "Death is my gift."

She was falling for his ploy. He had to keep her talking "Why? Why is death your gift?"

She chuckled, a dark chuckle. "I was chosen. I got a load of crap stuffed into me and told to go out and hunt and kill - just like my sisters before me."

Jack focused on his breathing - it was an awkward position. "Sisters? And what do you mean chosen?"

She was silent and Jack wondered if he'd pushed to far. He opened his mouth to retract his question but then he heard something. Twisting his head to the side, he blinked as he took in the silent figures. He felt a sudden lightness and pushed himself up, turning to look at where Anne was standing a meter away, watching the advancing figures silently.

Then one of them stepped forward. "Our Goddess makes you this offer, Slayer: the life of William the Bloody and that of your father for that of the Key."

"How do I even know you have William? As for the Dad thing… I know you don't have him - he's in Spain. Besides, Slayers don't have family - it's in the rules. So you have nothing to bargain with."

The spokesman tilted his head to the side and leered at her. "You're right. Slayers don't have mates… they don't have family… and they don't have friends. They don't have those things for a reason." He looked her up and down smirking. "It's your choice."

Jack frowned as the strangers circled them. For a second he flashed back to the thought he'd had when he was listening to the tape. He had thought that if Dawn was to be taken, it was better that these people took her than the others. Now it looked like he was going to be relying on one of those 'others' in a fight. Not good.

Tensing, he settled into a stance and waited. He did not have to wait long.

Dawn was tired. The room was quiet, warm, dark… the perfect place to sleep, except she couldn't stop worrying about why they wanted her. They had been nice, or at least they hadn't threatened her. They had given her food and drink… anything she asked for… but there was the slight problem that they weren't letting her go anywhere.

Curling up on the mattress and pile of blankets that they expected to serve as her bed, she suppressed a sob. Nothing was working. All the things her dad had told her about… they happened, but she couldn't take advantage of any of them. She wanted to attack them, fight. But she was scared. She wasn't a fighter. She was a talker, like Daniel, but she didn't know what to say.

As she lay there, in the dark, a dark feeling began to grow in her stomach. She was not going to be made prey. She was going to get out of here… now, while the two main fighters in the group were away. There were only four of them… and if she got them to take her to the bathroom again… they would be split into two… that would make it easier.

For the first time since being kidnapped, Dawn smiled and felt pleased with herself. She had a plan.

Sam rubbed her eyes as she stared at the screen. Glancing at her watch, she sighed. She had sent the security team as Jack had asked and Teal'c and Daniel had gone with them, but it was a long drive to Jack's house. It would almost have been quicker to call 911, but Jack had said that the kidnapper had jumped from a two story window. It was unlikely that he wouldn't be able to handle it.

She sighed again, but couldn't shake of the feeling that something was wrong. Picking up the phone on her desk, she rang Daniel. He was meant to be with the teams that were going to help Jack, if only to be there as moral support. Teal'c, who had been with the archaeologist when Sam had called, was there as well. Sam was extremely glad of that fact.

"Daniel Jackson."

"Daniel? It's Sam. Are you there yet?"

"No… Why?"

Sam groaned in frustration. "This whole situation doesn't feel right. Why would one of the kidnappers go back to Jack's house? They would have known that Jack or some one would be there and could potentially recognise them. We just had Dawn kidnapped - security is on the highest alert we have, short of locking down the base." She paused to take a breath. "I just… it feels wrong."

"You're right. I'll tell the others to get a move on. Do you think Jack's in danger?"

Sam bit her lip. "The Colonel said that the kidnapper jumped out of a second story window, although none of them sounded suicidal from the recording we listened to. They seemed concerned about each other's safety and they're obviously all used to fighting… Why would one risk suicide?"

"You think it's a trap?"

"Potentially. The Colonel isn't exactly going to be careful if he thinks the only opponent there is seriously injured and he hasn't called us back with an update yet and it's been eight minutes."

Daniel groaned. "We'll hurry and I'll call you back as soon as we got any more news. I promise."

Sam put down the phone, rubbing her head. All she could see when she looked at her screen was the Colonel fighting a bunch of shadowy figures. And there was a blonde figure as well… but it wasn't clear if she was fighting with the Colonel or against him. She groaned and saved her work, before stalking towards the canteen. She hoped they would be OK - she really did.

OK, this was getting stupid. Slayer should have been back half an hour ago and she still hadn't shown. Something was wrong and now Spike was left with a choice. He could head back home, drop the supplies off and then come back… but it was a twenty minute journey and if Buffy was in trouble that would be more than enough time to kill or torture or do something equally nasty to her.

He groaned and hid the bags in a series of boxes scattered to one side. The place looked like it hadn't been touched for weeks, so they should be safe enough. If they weren't, they could always go somewhere else and get fresh things. For now, he was just interested in finding her and making sure that she was OK. They were meant to be looking out for each other and the Scoobies would dust him on sight if he let her get hurt...


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Dawn rolled her eyes as she sat against the entrance to her 'room'. Slowly, she counted down to five in her head, before standing up and stalking towards the line that was meant to signify the separation between her space and the rest of the caves.

"I want to go to the bathroom."

Her four captors were gathered around a small table talking softly together about something. At her words, the group looked up, looking tired. The expressions changed quickly into neutral looks before Red and Jen stood together and Red gestured for her to come with them. Dawn came along looking annoyed down a side tunnel to the familiar 'bathroom'. The others were talking again… but not in a language she understood.

When she was ready, she took a deep breath before darting out of the nearest cave and straight into the shadow of the nearest female. Knocking her over, she lashed out with a small fist catching Red on the nose. Jen was standing and coming towards her, but Dawn was already up and lashing out at her. The woman blocked the first three punches, but when Dawn kicked her in the stomach, she stumbled backwards and Dawn had her taken out with a second punch to the nose.

Staggering back as she came down from the adrenaline rush, Dawn headed out of the cave, the opposite way from the cavern where the men were waiting. Searching hurriedly, she grinned when she spotted what she was looking for.

"Go Dawn." She chuckled to herself.

-

When the three cars holding the security team Jack had requested pulled up at his house, the first thing the reinforcements heard was the sounds of fighting coming from the back. Hurriedly, they pulled out their zats and headed towards the back of the house. Sam's phone call had put them all on guard, but even so when they saw the sheer number of hostiles attacking the Colonel they couldn't help but feel a flash of surprise.

There was about twenty men… and a couple of other things… surrounding their commanding officer who seemed to be fighting alongside a young blonde woman who was obviously the kidnapper they had been sent to fetch. They were too well trained to let the surprise stop them for long however. Zat blasts joined the fray, resulting in even more confusion as they failed to stun their opponents.

"Looks like your friends have decided to join, Jack. Pity the fancy blue light doesn't seem to be working too well."

Jack ignored the sarcastic comment as he concentrated on blocking the attacks. He had thought that Slayer was a powerful fighter when he'd tried to take her down earlier. But now, seeing these attackers… he knew that she had been holding back. The glimpses he caught of her fighting them out the corner of his eye showed him that they were clearly as strong as she was and not afraid of holding back. More than once he would have been overwhelmed if Slayer hadn't stepped in and given him breathing time - and he had yet to return the favour. Then he caught himself, he thought of her as Anne, not Slayer. Anne…

"Duck!"

Jack did as she said and dropped to the ground, spinning around to see something suddenly grow out of one of the attacker's chests and then drop to the ground as the attacker crumbled into a pile of dust. "What was that?"

"One of the oldest and most used weapons known to man. Stab the pointy bit into the vampires' chests."

Jack picked it up, frowning at the feel of wood under his finger tips… and did she say vampire? He had seen a lot of strange things on other planets, but that wasn't meant to follow him home… he blinked in surprise. Then another cloud of dust fell over his head, causing him to cough, but it served its purpose and shook him out of his daze. He turned back to the fight and rammed the carved shape into an attacker's chest, grinning when the creature exploded with a poof. When he fought this time, he found himself making progress. Now that he knew what they were, he didn't focus on breaking arms and legs or going for the neck, he simply stabbed at them.

It wasn't plain sailing though. Once his attackers realised that he had the piece of wood, they stopped playing with him… and Jack had thought they were seriously fighting earlier… he was just glad that, despite the fact they were obviously angry, they weren't trying to kill him. They were simply trying to knock him out or subdue him. He knew that if that wasn't the case, and if Slayer wasn't helping him, he would have been subdued easily. And he was not going into how he felt about that….

-

Xander frowned when he heard a wail start up. Tara had been sleeping peacefully… Willow had made sure of it. No one was supposed to go into her room until Dawn was either asleep or safely locked away behind a shield charm. They had all agreed that while they couldn't let Dawn wander off, it wasn't good to have her so near to Dawn in case Glory was some how connected to her. She tended to be unpredictable and, although she wasn't in her right mind right now, she knew that she wanted to get back to Sunnydale for some reason.

They were all wondering if Glory had put any other commands in there…

"Hey Ripper."

Giles glanced over at Xander wearily. He had gone with the name reluctantly - and only because if they did need to talk to someone who knew them while Dawn was around - it was a name they would not challenge as a lie straight away. The others had got a bit more lee-way, the demon population giving them their own nicknames that were at least fairly similar to their own real ones. "Yes?"

"I should go check on Tara. Make sure she's OK. You coming?"

Giles shook his head. "I'm sure you'll be fine, but while you're at it, please check to see how much longer the girls are going to be."

Xander nodded and headed down the hall, his feet making no sound as he padded along. Rolling his eyes at the curtain that covered the bathroom area. "Yo, girls! Ripper wants to know how much longer you'll be?" He fell silent expectantly, before frowning. "Girls?"

When there was still no answer, he groaned. "All right, I'm coming in now, so you better all be decent…"

He moved the curtain aside cautiously and peeked around, ready to close his eyes if they were doing something he really did not want to see. He cursed when he spotted Willow only just beginning to stir, a red lump on her forehead. Leaving the room after noticing that, yes, Anya was breathing, he headed back to find Giles. It looked like they were going on a Dawn hunt.

-

Spike frowned as he spotted the fight. The Air Force boys were making quick work of the vampires, once they figured out it took five shots to dust them, and his Slayer was kicking up a storm of dust in the middle of the group anyway - and she was keeping Dad safe - not that the old man was doing too badly anyway. He scanned the group and shrugged, before going vamp face and slipping into the melee. Buffy spotted him within ten seconds, and flashed him a small smile.

"Nice to see you could be finally bothered to turn up for the party, William!"

"Well, if someone had delivered my invite, maybe I would have come quicker!"

Buffy laughed and dispatched three vamps in one go as she slashed through their necks with her blades. It always amazed Spike how she could hide so many weapons on her person - most of the time it was just a dagger and one or two stakes. It was only in apocalypse season that she carried more - like the short sword she had previously carried strapped to her back. It was sensible, considering what Glory had sent after them before. Now, almost working in tandem, Spike and Buffy spun, reacting together to form a brief circle of dust around the pair of them. In that one second breather, Buffy jerked her head towards a flagging Colonel O'Neill.

"Not bad for a human," Spike commented as he dodged a stake at where he had been standing before he slipped behind the Colonel's back and took out a particularly angry demon. "I'm William and I'm on the Slayer's team, so maybe you could wait until after to try and dust me?"

The man grunted but ignored his comment until he noticed that the things attacking him were going for Spike even more eagerly than they had Anne earlier. After that, he allowed the man at his back, but Spike could tell he was far from comfortable about it. The chipped vampire glanced around for Buffy and grinned when he noticed her grab a sports bag from the ground and slowly move towards the edge of the fighting. He did a quick check and raised an eyebrow when he saw the lack of people between him and the Air Force boys.

"Nice to meet you Colonel, but time to bail, I think," he commented to the man. He was Buffy's father, after all, and no matter how good a fighter the guy was, it wasn't right to just cut and run when he was struggling as it was. It was better to give a warning first.

-

Teal'c frowned as he spotted the alien with the white blonde hair fighting near the Colonel. The man seemed to be watching O'Neill's back, as well as taking over where the golden haired woman had left off. Even from the edge of the fight, Teal'c could see that this was a good thing. The hostile aliens were as fast and as strong as the Goa'uld, and Teal'c was impressed that O'Neill was holding his own so well. Then he spotted the blonde woman off to the side of the main fight.

"Major Castleman. Please continue to aid Colonel O'Neill. I must investigate something."

The major nodded in reply as Teal'c set off at a steady lope around the main fight to where the blonde was fighting. If she truly was the kidnapper O'Neill had called them to take into custody, Teal'c did not plan to let her leave as she was obviously planning to do.

-

Willow woke with a splitting headache. Rolling over, she spotted Anya and sent a little healing magic into her. The ex-demon sat up with a groan and at Willow's look groaned again.

"She tricked us, didn't she?"

Willow nodded her head, smiling softly. "Would you have expected anything less, considering who her sister is?"

Anya paused, and then shrugged. "No. But this time I don't care what Buffy thinks, you are going to put a shield over her door so she can't get out."

Willow nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Come on, I have no idea how long we were out - not long or the boys would have come to see how we were doing."

"Or the little monster got them, too."

Willow nodded, suddenly serious. "Yeah, but at least she can't leave the caves." She stood up and held out a hand to pull Anya up. "Come on, let's go find her."

A wail rang out, causing the two to stiffen. Anya frowned. "I think she's been found - but not by us."

Willow shuddered and the pair dashed out of the room to where Tara's cave was. If she was awake it meant her tablets had worn off… and if that had happened she wasn't going to be the calm sweet Tara they knew… no, she would not.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The woman straightened as Teal'c drew near, the sports bag swung over her shoulder. She watched him come closer, his zat pointed directly at her.

"Well if it isn't Teal'c, the alien," she finally commented quietly. "Do you think that thing will work on me?"

Teal'c glared at her and moved his other hand to reveal a sword he had picked up from one of the hostiles on his way around to her. "If it does not, I am prepared."

She gave him a cheeky smile and shrugged. "OK, then."

Then she lunged at him, revealing her own long knife. Teal'c sidestepped, bringing the zat up to fire smoothly at her, even as he sliced towards her leg with the sword in his other hand. She twisted out the way, her knife stabbing forward and forcing him to step back, even as her left hand wrapped around his wrist and snapped it. Teal'c was forced to drop the zat.

"You can't win, Teal'c. The only thing you can do is let me go."

Teal'c shook his head. "I can not do that, Anne."

She shook her head sadly even as they began to fight. "OK then, but if I want to catch my lift I have to disappear soon, so don't expect me to play with you long."

Teal'c frowned at the comment, and then his eyes widened slightly as the woman in front of him speeded up. She was moving faster than was possible even for the Goa'uld and he knew that had it not been for Bra'tac's training, he would have been overwhelmed immediately. As it was, he was only just able to keep up, and it was making him feel like a bumbling student again - particularly as the woman was hampered by a huge bag and he could tell she was holding back. Even when he occasionally got a slash through her defences, she simply jumped back grinning at him in amusement before speeding up and making it harder. It was like one of those Tauri computer games Colonel O'Neill had played with him. Each time he succeeded in getting a 'hit', it would get harder to gain another one. He was not looking forward to what would happen when he 'lost a life'.

"You do know that you're actually pretty good," she commented, teasingly. "Unfortunately…" and here her face turned hard..."I am better."

The next thing Teal'c knew was that he was on the ground, her blade against his throat and something sharp pushing into the pouch in his stomach causing his pimta to move about in fear - although not quite penetrating it. He looked into her eyes and for the first time, he was unable to hide the fear and he knew it was showing in his face. It was impossible to hide…because he could sense that this thing that wore the face of a woman was a hundred times more dangerous than the Goa'uld. A predator gazed at him through cold eyes, with a keen intelligence and a rising blood lust. Then she blinked and the predator was hidden again - but Teal'c could sense it now. He knew it was there waiting for him to make a wrong move.

"What are you?"

"In every generation there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer. I'm sure you guys did your digging… just Google it. We fight, we die. That's it." She smirked down at him, but there was a sarcastic touch to it that was the same as Jack's when he explained something he thought sucked. "Well, that and be the Power's favourite toy until we get broken and they get a new one."

Teal'c felt something stir inside him - similar to pity. This woman, this warrior, was as much a slave as his fellow Jaffa who still served under the false gods. "These are good people. They can help you."

She gave him a grim smile. "The last time I trusted someone in the government I was sent to my death. Then they turned on my friends and those I called family." She surveyed him, looking him over. "Don't worry. We won't let anything happen to Dawn. I promise."

Teal'c dimly registered the knife being removed from his body and then her hands hitting him on the sides of his head hard. Then everything went black.

-

Spike separated himself from the fight without too much trouble and headed for where he could see the Slayer. She was talking to the other alien…Teal'c. She caught a glimpse of him coming up and clapped her hands hard against the Jaffa's temples in one smooth move. Then she stood, the bag still over her shoulder. Without a word they headed for the back fence and were over within a few seconds. Behind them, the sounds of the fight faded as they jogged together for the breach.

"They heard us in the alley way."

Spike blinked. "What?"

Buffy gritted her teeth. "Dawn must have been bugged or something…or maybe that mobile phone was connected to the SGC. Either way, they know everything we said in that alley way. That means they have Giles' name and they know to contact the army…they also know about the fact that Dawn is my biological sister."

Spike sighed. "They don't know about the others though?"

Buffy let out a half chuckle. "They find me or Giles and it'll lead them straight to the others."

Spike sighed as he acknowledged the truth of that. "You think we might have underestimated them?"

Buffy stopped and gazed at him incredulously. "Might?! Oh yeah, we under-estimated them! We counted on the fact that the usual Sunnydale Amnesia would work and because of that we didn't bother to check things out properly. Will never even looked at their full records…just the brief stuff we picked up as we went along. So, yes, we did underestimate them!"

Spike winced and nodded. "It doesn't matter though. They won't be able to trace us to Scotland - even if they do ID us all."

Buffy shook her head and started to run again. "I really don't know anymore, but the chances of pulling this off successfully are getting very, very small."

-

Back at the SGC, Sam blinked and then shook her head. She had finally found the breach in security and was attempting to trace it back to its source. She was finding it hard…very hard…and she was well aware that for most people this would be impossible. Whoever this 'Wills' person was, they were very talented. Given a bit more training and they might end up being a match for her!

Thankfully, though, that wasn't the case yet. The hacker had left an almost undetectable trail, and while it was hard, it wasn't completely undetectable and that meant she could follow it. Finally, she grinned. It seemed that the tracker had stopped trying to erase their path at this point. It was almost as if they were sure that no one would be able to follow their trail any more and had just given up. Sam smiled to herself as she found an address. Maybe the hacker was right to be so cocky - she doubted any one else could follow the trail 'Wills' had left.

"General Hammond? Sir, I've found how the hacker got in."

"Yes sir, I've fixed the problem. The location was in Sunnydale, California. Apparently it originated in a shop called 'The Magic Box".

"I have more good news, sir. It seems the breach in security wasn't as big as we originally thought. They only seem to have looked at Dawn's file and SG1's. Even in that case, they haven't dug that deep. They seemed more interested in the earliest records of the program. They couldn't have got anything more recent than the mission to the planet Simarka, sir."

"Thank you, sir. I should have the information by the time the Colonel gets back with the security team."

She put down the phone and headed back to the computer. She loved it when things worked out so nicely.

-

Jack was exhausted by the time the storm of zat fire penetrated to where he was. He dropped to the ground happily, watching as the hostiles exploded into dust around him. This had been a very confusing night - not to mention disappointing. The girl had come right into his house and he hadn't been able to stop her. It was definitely annoying. If he had just waited until the security team got here…

He looked up when he heard the sounds of boots heading towards him. Major Castleman looked down at him an eyebrow raised. "Heard you had someone for us to pick up, Colonel?"

Jack rolled his eyes and stood, feeling his knee twinge unpleasantly beneath him. He looked down at himself, noticing for the first time the various cuts and bruises that covered his visible skin. "I guess I might have had a little trouble…"

The major shook his head as he led Jack over to where the medic they had brought with them was checking out Teal'c. Jack frowned at the still form of his friend. "He's going to be OK?"

Castleman shrugged. "We don't know. He seems to just be knocked out, but we're not sure. He went after a blonde who was hanging about under your window. From the looks of things she decimated him - although he did manage to get a couple of cuts in and we have a blood sample now. I've ordered it bagged and sent up to Janet ASAP to see if she can get a DNA reading out of it. After, we can see if there's anything in the system."

Jack nodded. "Good. I'll need to call her in a minute - get her to check for some more unusual stuff. That girl was far too fast and strong."

Major Castleman frowned. "Goa'uld strong?"

Jack shook his head, looking down at Teal'c. "Nope. According to her it's to do with a load of crap that got stuffed into her when she was 'chosen'. I hoping Janet will pick something up."

The Major nodded, and the two relaxed slightly when Teal'c groaned and sat up. He sat up and looked around. "I am sorry, Colonel O'Neill. I failed to stop the kidnapper."

Jack shook his head. "It's OK, Teal'c. You did your best."

Teal'c sighed. "I fear my best was not good enough, O'Neill. Even hampered by a large bag such as the one that Dawn O'Neill uses for swimming, she still held back when she was fighting me. The Slayer is indeed a dangerous opponent."

Jack clicked his fingers. "Yep, there's another thing. Everyone is calling her Slayer - and they offered a trade - the lives of her friends and family for Dawn. She turned them down - claiming it was crap. I'm wondering what would have happened if she thought it wasn't."

Teal'c shook his head. "We must know more about this fight, Colonel O'Neill. These warriors are too strong and fast - and the Slayer is faster and stronger than them all. Had she wished to kill me, she would have found it all too easy." He looked around for a second, taking in the devastation and then raised an eyebrow. "Major Castleman? Where is Daniel Jackson?"

-

Daniel blinked up at the male of the pair he had been attempting to trail. The two had been moving along and then Daniel had heard that comment about Scotland. He hadn't been able to keep in his gasp of surprise but he didn't see how they could have heard him - he was too far away. Then, of course, they had turned a corner. Daniel had followed carefully and found himself suddenly dragged into an alley by the pair. He put his best innocent face on and smiled up at them - hoping they wouldn't recognise him.

"Hi? I don't suppose you want to donate any money to Christian Aid?"

The male chuckled and grabbed him, hauling him upright. "Nice to see you have a sense of humour. But, no, you have to come with us. I'm sure Dawn will be glad of the company."

Daniel swallowed, hurriedly pressing the call back button on his mobile phone. This was not what he'd planned.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Hey people,

I'm glad that people are enjoying the story so far, and thanks to the people that have been sending me points to improve... particularly Cylon One. It's a big help. Also, as I said before it's the middle of the anual GCSE Exam Season here in the UK and I'm part of it! So update will be difficult over the next few weeks... just hang in there and I'll update as I can.

Dream

-

**Chapter 8  
**  
Dawn stared at the mad woman in front of her. She had spotted the cave with the curious row of stones over the front, as well as the young woman curled in the corner, and had gone in to investigate. It was on a narrow corridor that led towards what she had thought to be natural light. It hadn't - just to a room decorated in a collection of glowing stones.

Now, as Dawn slowly backed against the invisible force field that blocked her exit, she swallowed as the woman raised a hand to brush along her cheek. She was gazing at Dawn now with blank eyes and muttering softly to herself. Smiling cautiously, Dawn brought her own hand up to catch the woman's. The woman wasn't really into it and Dawn wasn't sure she wanted her near her. It was a bad move as it caused the woman to stiffen and try to pull her hand away.

Dawn didn't let her. The woman pulled gently and then frowned. She brought up her other hand as if to strike Dawn, and Dawn grabbed that too. She was now standing with her back to an invisible wall holding a mad woman who was getting angrier and angrier with each moment Dawn tried to decide what to do. Then she snarled.

"Nice mad woman…" Dawn murmured trying to edge around her so that she could get back to the room.

The woman snarled at her again, yanking a hand free and using it to try and grab Dawn's hair. Dawn let go of the woman's other hand and dodged around, moving to the centre of the floor where there was plenty of space to defend herself. The woman lunged at her and Dawn felt the woman scratch into her arm as she moved back out the way.

What happened next startled her badly. It was as if the moment the woman saw her blood, she began terrified. She backed away from Dawn muttering under her breath. Dawn looked at the scratch unsure. It was already drying and forming a scab… barely any blood had been drawn, but the mad woman was becoming more and more stressed. Dawn frowned and took a step forward, hoping to calm her down, but then she began wailing.

It was like an alarm being sounded and Dawn looked around wildly for somewhere to hide, but then they were there. All four of them, and she backed towards them, keeping her eyes fixed on the woman. These four at least hadn't tried to hurt her - and right now she would even have Jen's mother henning if it meant she could escape that awful sound.

The two men seized her by her arms and dragged her towards the invisible wall. Dawn kept glancing between them wondering how they would open the 'cage'. They didn't. They simply pulled her through as if there was nothing there. When that was done, the one called Ripper handed her over to Jen and stepped back in to where Red was kneeling next to the woman.

"Well at least now we know how she would react to Dawn." He commented. "How are the wards?"

Red shook her head. "I don't think they've been breached. Of course we don't know exactly what Glory did when she…" She glanced over at Dawn and Dawn caught the anguish on her face. "I want to stay with her for a bit, make sure she settles down again."

Ripper placed a hand gently on her shoulder and then turned towards them, motioning for Tony and Jen to take her back to the other room. Dawn tried to twist around to get another look at the pair of them, but the pair was holding her arms too tightly and there was a serious tone to the group that hadn't been there before.

"Who is she?"

Tony glanced down at her, his face blank. "She was our friend - then she got captured by someone who mistook her for you. They were… upset… when they found out they were wrong." His mask faded revealing a look of worry and of anguish. "We're still looking for a way to help her overcome it."

Dawn was silent for the rest of the journey back to her cave and when they placed her in the cave and Ripper set up a set of glowing stones over the entrance, she didn't resist or comment. She just sat there thinking. If they were telling the truth, whoever was after her was very powerful, and not afraid of hurting other people when they didn't get what they wanted. She needed to know more - for example why they wanted her. At the moment, all she knew was that they believed her to be a vital component in destroying the world. It wasn't enough.

She glanced up at Ripper who had finished the stones and was gazing at her sadly. "I am sorry that it had to come to this." He commented. "Until Anne returns, you will remain in here - no matter what."

He turned to go, but Dawn wasn't letting him leave without an explanation. "What do they want with me?"

Ripper stood still, his back to her. "It is none of your concern. At the moment, all you need to know is that you would not survive what they want you for - and neither would anyone else."

Dawn opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She felt something inside her stir, a terror that she couldn't explain. She had the terrible feeling that whatever was going on it was very real and very dangerous. These people who could go from joking to deadly serious in a heart beat… they felt safe… as if she could trust them to keep her safe. She couldn't though. They had taken her from her Dad - they had locked her up. On the pile of cushions and quilts that made up her bed, Dawn began to cry. She wanted her Dad... or any of his team… anyone familiar to tell her things would be OK.

"OK, how are we going to get him back to base." The blonde woman – Anne - commented. "I'm pretty sure that you know the whole 'special people only' rule. Weren't any others meant to end up dead or vanished? And even if we do it, he's still likely to go cuckoo when his mind can't cope."

Daniel swallowed. Despite her almost flippant manner of speaking she was deadly serious - he could tell. "You could always leave me here…"

The man - William - shook his head. "Nope. You've heard too much - besides, like we said, Dawn could use the company. Now be quiet while we try to find a way to prevent you turning into a vegetable." He turned to his companion, cocking his head to the side. "Knocking him out might work. He can't see or hear anything if he's out of it and if one of us carries him…"

The blonde sighed. "You know if he wakes up while we're in there his mind will probably explode. There is a reason why normal humans have to undergo all that ritual stuff before they can use the roads." She hesitated before shrugging. "Fine, we'll try your way, but I blame you if he doesn't come out 100 healthy."

William rolled his eyes. "It worked with the Gate Boy."

Anne glared at him. "Who wasn't by any stretch of the imagination a normal human so he doesn't count. Besides, you said he was really sick afterwards anyway."

William shook his head, and pulled Daniel up by his arm. The man had been glancing between them nervously praying that the SGC was picking up his call. "I thought you didn't want to hurt anyone."

Anne snorted. "We don't want to hurt humans, but William here had a little problem when he was younger. All sorted out now and he's on our side… mostly… but you really don't want to annoy him. Still, for your sake, you better hope you don't end up waking."

Daniel blinked and then stumbled back as he saw her move her hands towards his neck. She glared at him. "Don't be a baby. This won't hurt. I promise."

Then she had her hands pressing against the side of his neck and he was slipping into darkness. His last though was that she was right… it didn't hurt…

Sam listened to the phone, feeling slightly sick. William and Anne were going to take Daniel through something that had a very good chance of driving him crazy. They had just knocked him out and… she pushed the thoughts out of her mind and began typing again as she heard them talking. She was lucky they were talking so slow. If they weren't she would never have been able to keep up and then any information they might have got from this call would be lost… It was a pity that there wasn't a recording machine.

A: There not even a whimper - I told him it wouldn't hurt. Now, where did you put your bags? We need to get out of here. His friends shouldn't be that far off.

W: Behind there. I'll take the bags and you can take your dad's friend.

A: Sure leave me with the hard job.

W: You want to risk me getting shocked on the roads? Besides I have to carry all these bags - and what's with your sister's wacky taste buds. She get them from you?

A: Drop it Spike. And first thing we do when we get back is search him for a cell phone. Not after they managed to bug the last one. We don't want him calling for help.

There was a grunt of exertion - Sam guessed Anne had picked Daniel up - and then the connection went dead. There was that annoying high pitched tone that came when a call was disconnected and in this case she guessed it was because they were out of the range of the satellites. She shivered as she slowly placed the phone down on the cradle and looked over her notes. There was very little information, but she did know that Daniel had been taken on some strange form of transportation that used the 'roads'. She knew that said form of transportation was very dangerous to humans who hadn't gone through all the 'ritual stuff' (she would bet almost anything that it was really some sort of advanced medical procedure) and they weren't going to let the fact he might go mad stop them.

Taking a deep breath, she dialed the General. After she had broken the news to him that Daniel had been kidnapped as well, she would volunteer to tell the Colonel and Teal'c. They would not be happy. In fact, they would probably be extremely mad… and just what was Daniel doing trailing dangerous people on his own anyway? Teal'c had gone to get Jack with him and more than a couple of airmen… How had they been distracted enough that Daniel not only didn't have time to get them, but that they didn't notice he was gone when he went to trail these people?

Jack was beyond upset. After spreading out to search the surrounding area, Teal'c had found signs indicting where the two kidnappers had escaped after he had been knocked unconcious - and that Daniel had followed them. They were standing around the area now, waiting for Teal'c to finish examining the slightly soft ground for any more hints on what had happened. Jack was glad that Jaffa training included learning how to track by sight. Otherwise they'd have to waste time getting dogs in and that would only attract attention… The only other good news so far was that they didn't think the pair had noticed Daniel when they left.

"Major, I want half your team patrolling the streets." Jack ordered, as the man came up, shaking his head.

"Yes, sir. I've already got people searching the surrounding area in pairs. I'll have them fan out from this spot." He shifted uneasily. "Sir, Doctor Jackson isn't the… quietest of people."

Jack turned to stare at him. "I know that, Major. That is why we have to find him."

Major Castleman nodded and headed off, leaving the small group behind. As he did, Jack turned back to the spot where Teal'c had straightened up, looking serious. "O'Neill. I am afraid that I can learn no more from this area. We will have to track them on the streets."

Jack nodded. "Come on, then, we'll go over the fence. And Teal'c? When we do find them, stun them. This has gone far enough. First they take Dawn, then those… guys… try to take me, and now Daniel is missing. From now on, the games are over. We are going to find out what's going on and we are going to stop it."

Teal'c bowed his head solemnly. "Indeed, O'Neill. We will recover Daniel Jackson and Dawn O'Neill."

Jack gave Teal'c a grim smile and pulled himself over the fence quickly, followed by Teal'c. Together, they dropped to the pavement and followed the faint trail of dirt along the pavement.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Hey people, I ahve just noticed that apparently all the little line breaks I had put in aren't transfered, so you'll have to make do with the big ones for now. I'll probably change them to smaller ones alter, but for now... enjoy!

Oh and as usual, I don't own the characters - except the guard and some of his other 'friends'. They're mine.

**Chapter 9**

Buffy sneezed as they emerged out into the clearing. Grabbing at the still form of a still unconscious Doctor Jackson, she managed to stop him slipping off her shoulder and gently laid him down as she sniffed and wiped her nose. Behind her, Spike chuckled as he stepped out of the breach. He smiled at her as she sneezed again and set the bags down, a chuckle breaking out when she found she couldn't stop. When she finally got it under control, he was watching her with a fond look.

"You know, if you're allergic to something out here then maybe we should get inside rather than hanging around. You'll catch a cold."

Buffy glared at him and then down at Daniel as he winced and began to wake up. She pulled a face at him and crouched down next to him. Then yanked him upright and heading quickly towards the house. She wanted to get him in and underground before he woke up. Giles was going to be angry enough at her for bringing another person back with them; she didn't want to make it worse by being outside the wards when he found out. And if Daniel saw the way in or out it would be even worse. Besides, once they got him inside they could search him and make sure all possible bugs were dumped far, far away…

See how quick the SGC could find them when they were searching Italy…

* * *

Janet stared at the results on the screen. When the blood sample had been rushed to her with a message saying that it was from the kidnapper who claimed to be Jack's daughter, she had felt pleased that they were finally getting somewhere. With a blood sample she could get a DNA sample and try to match it on the database. From there they would be able to identify who she was and where she was from. After that it would be a simple matter to locate her and then Dawn. That was the theory. In practise, things were a bit different. For a start, the blood sample did have a match on the database. It matched Dawn's blood sample. That was not good news.

Now she had to figure out a way to tell Jack that the big issue everyone had been carefully avoiding needed to be confronted. She had to tell him that he could no longer continue operating under the belief that this 'Anne' was mad. She was his daughter and if that was true… Janet had a very bad feeling. She swallowed as she thought back to what Anne had said to Spike after Dawn was safely gone.

'I found out that a bunch of monks stole my DNA to create a human form to hide something capable of destroying universes.'

Janet bit her lip. If the girl was correct, then Dawn was technically 'Anne's' clone. That matched the evidence in front of her. That in turn gave her other claims more credibility. After all, it wasn't the first time that the people at the SGC had found their memories adjusted. There was after all that incident on the planet Oannes. She bit her lip for a second thinking, before printing off a copy of her results. She hoped that it was nothing… but everything had to be checked. If Dawn really was a plant…

Sam swallowed as she looked at the phone. The General had called for a meeting. With Daniel's kidnapping and the incident at Jack's house, he had decided that they needed to get everyone together again and find out what they knew. But first, she had to call the Colonel and Teal'c. They needed to know about the meeting… and they needed to know about Daniel.

"Colonel?"

She winced at the sharp tone as he responded and bit a lip before getting out, "I know, sir… Daniel called my phone. I'm sorry, sir, but you're not going to find a trail."

"They have some sort of transportation system, sir. The phone was just cut off as they were talking."

She bit her lip, the painful feeling in her chest increasing. "Sir, I have a transcript here of what I heard… We're lucky that I had a word document open when they called. I was able to transcribe as they talked." She paused for a second. "You can see it at the meeting General Hammond has called, sir. He wants you, Teal'c, and Major Castleman here, ASAP. He's particularly disturbed about the strange aliens you captured. Apparently we have a leak and the NID are all over us on this."

Sam moved the phone away from her ear as she heard the Colonel cursing loudly. She waited until he had stopped and took a deep breath, but before she could tell him the rest of the information, he cut her off. She shook her head and saved her work, printing off a couple of copies of the transcript. She would meet the others in briefing room.

Daniel woke feeling as if he had one of the worst hangovers in history. It didn't help that there was a really bright light directly above him, causing him to blink as his eyes watered. A soft hand touched his brow and then the light disappeared leaving him blinking in the sudden gloomy light. He winced and closed his eyes tightly shut as the memories came flooding back.

"Well he seems to be OK physically. We won't know if his mind's been damaged for a bit." A voice came to his left. "What were you thinking taking that sort of risk?"

There was a snort. "He was listening in," the voice that belonged to Spike commented. "What? Did you want me to kill him? I thought you lot didn't kill humans."

There was a snort from Daniel's right. "No. And why did you go back to Colorado anyway? There are countless places you could have got stuff for Dawn."

"It was Slayer's idea." Spike answered. "The good Doctor's awake by the way. You might want to move him into Dawn's room."

Daniel frowned and opened his eyes, glancing curiously around the place. If they knew he was awake they wouldn't say anything they didn't want to hear. He hoped they hadn't searched him - although if they thought there was a possibility of brain damage… then there was a possibility he had lost his memory. And if he pretended he had lost his memory it might get actually him some more information. "Where am I? What happened?"

A young man with messy dark hair looked him over critically, his eyes suspicious. "What was the last thing you remember?"

Daniel frowned. "Um… I was just giving a talk… It was something to do with the pyramids, I think…"

Mister Messy Hair narrowed his eyes. "And you remember nothing after that?"

Daniel shook his head, pretending to think really hard. "Nothing."

The red head, who Daniel assumed had been checking him over for injuries, shook her head and sighed. "Don't worry. You'll have to stay with us for a few days while we arrange transport or something. I'm afraid we don't have a phone or any signal here, but when the postman makes his next visit we'll get him to give you a lift to the nearest town."

Daniel nodded doing his best to keep an innocent look on his face. "Sure… but um… why are we underground?"

The red head gave him a small smile. "We're in the middle of the outback - you know in Australia. We have to stay in these caves until after dusk then we can go out again. Otherwise it's just too hot."

Daniel nodded, giving a small smile back, before raising a hand up to clutch at his head. That WAS a good cover story - and it explained why he couldn't go out and the strange reddish rock in the wall. He looked down, clutching at his head as he thought furiously about what to do next. He needed to look around, find out where Dawn was and then see if he could find the way out. He also needed to contact the SGC and tell them where they were… He so hoped that they hadn't taken his cell phone.

Dawn glared at the glowing stones covering the entrance to her room. She hadn't seen what had happened - she had been made to sit with 'Tony' pointing a crossbow at her until they were done, but she didn't mind too much. After all, she had a plan. She just had to wait until things quietened down and they stopped checking on her so often. Her plan wouldn't work if she didn't have at least half an hour. She did not want to risk getting caught and moved…

Buffy grinned as she stepped out into Italy. She had dashed back to drop off the various electric and other possible gizmos Xander had uncovered when he searched their guest and looked down at the bag in her hand. She felt a faint sense of satisfaction at how she had managed to avoid Giles' lecture for another hour or two. Casually walking along the street, looking for all the world like an American tourist, she casually dumped the full carrier bag into a large bin.

Ten minutes later she was more than half way back to Scotland and debating her strategy on how exactly she could survive the coming lecture without having her ears go numb.

Giles smiled absentmindedly at the young man he was escorting around. They were sticking to the middle layer of caves of course, they didn't want him meeting Dawn yet, but at the same time Giles was careful to keep the man away from anything that might lead to an exit. He sighed in his head as he thought about the mess his Slayer had stirred up. If only she hadn't gone back to that town then none of this would have happened…

"So tell me, Doctor Jackson, what are your theories on the pyramids. You mentioned you were giving a talk about something along those lines?"

"Well, it all sounds a bit silly now I come to think about it, but I believed then that the pyramids were far older than anyone had theorized before. Also, there were some indications that all the ancient cultures were linked…"

Giles nodded along as the Doctor Jackson explained his theories, his mind fitting the facts and evidence Daniel brought up with what he knew of demons from that period. It was surprisingly accurate, and he was not liking the picture that he was drawing up. All the journals said there had been something off with the majority of religions around the Egyptian period… but he hadn't thought… Aliens couldn't be… He really needed to get Willow to take another look at those files…

The instant the SGC communications centre picked up the signal from the bug in Daniel's cell again, a number of things happened at once. The signal was tracked along a number of streets to near a small café. The nearest satellite began to turn to try and gain an image of whoever was nearby the signal in question. The officer on duty sent an airman to inform the General and the rest of SG1 the news.

Only when those three things were done did the officer pick up the phone and call the NID contact number he had been given. They would want to know of the new developments and see if they could get the Colonel's daughter first - or at least find out what was going on with the strange aliens and why they were so focused on fighting over her. The Colonel's other daughter would be a big catch too. The officer wasn't sure why they were so interested in the young woman called Slayer, but he knew that the group was looking for a way to get control of her and at least one of the other members of her team.

That didn't bother the officer though. The NID could have the civilians for all he cared as long as they kept paying him the money and left his family alone. And maybe finding out what was going on would be enough to distract them for a week or two and they wouldn't be too interested in what he skipped over in his reports. Maybe then he wouldn't feel so guilty about betraying his co-workers…


	10. Chapter 10

* * *

A/N: Hey people, another update and Dawn gets to talk with her father... not to mention its time for the briefing where Janet reveals some important information to Jack...

**Chapter 10**

SG1, minus Daniel, was gathered in the briefing room waiting for Janet to come up. Everyone else was already there, each going over the information they had learnt in their heads and trying to come up with the easiest way to say it all without forgetting anything. Jack, in particular was not happy. Daniel should never have come to the house with the security guys. It wasn't his job and when Jack got his archaeologist back in one piece he was going to make sure that Daniel knew exactly why what he had done was unacceptable. Never mind the fact he deliberately went along with Teal'c to somewhere where hostiles were, he had followed two of the said hostiles (who Jack was pretty sure were cuckoo) when they left.

"Sorry I'm late, General." Janet commented as she entered the room. "I was just waiting for these to print."

General Hammond gave her a nod and motioned for Sam to go first. She stood and cleared her throat moving over to the projector. "From the information we got off the recordings, I've managed to trace the possible base of operations to a shop called the 'Magic Box' in Sunnydale, California. The shop is owned by a British national of the name Rupert Giles and, after a bit more digging, I found that it is also the favourite hang out of a Buffy Anne Summers, a Willow Rosenberg, an Alexander Harris, a Tara McKay and an Anya Jenkins."

She glanced at her audience as she clicked to the next slide revealing the pictures she had managed to get of the individuals in question. "As you can see; everyone except for Tara and Mr. Giles match up with the descriptions that Cassie gave us - the only one missing is 'William'. I'm afraid I haven't been able to track any details relating to him. I also assume that the reason none of them were that imaginative with their aliases is that they didn't expect us to be able to trace them."

"Well done, Captain. Now, what else can you tell us about these group? Did you find any potential connection to the Goa'uld?" the General questioned, glaring at the Colonel who had just opened his mouth to make some sort of sarcastic comment. Jack snapped it shut and slouched down into his seat, his eyes going back to the pictures of the people who had kidnapped his daughter.

Sam gave a small smile. "From what I was able to gather from the various records I discovered, Miss Rosenberg, Mr. Harris, Miss McKay and Miss Jenkins were never the leaders of the group. Miss Summers was at the centre of almost every incident. The others showed no signs of any unusual activities until they encountered Miss Summers. After that they seem to play a support role to Miss Summer's activities. Miss Rosenberg obviously plays the role of technical support, with Mr. Giles providing knowledge and experience, but I couldn't see any sign of the role Mr. Harris might play."

The smile faded as she took a slight breath. "As for Miss Summers… there are a number of things that don't add up where she's concerned, sir. For example, she was placed in a psychiatric hospital on suicide watch at one time..."

"So she's crazy - a loony bird," Jack commented, leaning forward, a faintly hopeful look on his face.

Sam bit her lip. "That's what I thought, sir, until I took a closer look at her records. She claimed that she had been changed into a 'Chosen warrior' whose abilities were enhanced by magic and was created to fight demons that she described as being super strong and looking like humans except for the fact they had glowing gold eyes. The doctors were naturally sceptical and after she was found beaten and bruised each morning, they had her placed on suicide watch. Two weeks after being committed, she apparently recanted and was discharged after receiving a visitor in the employ of 'the Council'. I'm afraid I can't find anything more than vague references to them… but you have to admit it look suspicious."

Jack whistled softly. "So, you're saying Summers starts going on about fighting super strong people with glowing eyes, gets committed, beaten up every night for over a week while everyone else thinks she's nuts and suicidal. Then after a visitor from some strange shadowy organisation does a complete one eighty, admits she's nuts and gets out?"

Sam nodded, as Teal'c leaned forward slightly. "That is not Goa'uld behaviour."

The rest of the group turned to look at him, watching as he studied the image of Miss Summers carefully. "If a Goa'uld desired Miss Summers' silence, they would kill her or ensure that she was unable to speak. They would not permit her to continue. Even if they desired her services, they would remove her to a location where there would be no witnesses and thus be able to treat her as they wish. They would not go through the charade of having her 'committed'."

Jack blinked. "So what explanation would you offer?"

"Miss Summers somehow was changed and became stronger due to the actions of the Council. She panicked and tried to tell her family who had her put in this 'hospital'. Neither group was able to infiltrate the hospital completely and so was forced to result to using physical techniques to try to persuade her to co-operate with them. This only ended when she had been 'softened' enough and the Council approached her with an offer. Once she had accepted and recanted they could use the threat of returning her to the hospital to ensure that she co-operated. It would also explain her tale of the 'Chosen One'. It would make sense that the person or people who changed her would not wish for too many reluctant warriors of her abilities in case they turned on them or that they only had one device that would enhance her abilities."

General Hammond nodded. "There is only one problem with that scenario. Why not choose someone willing? Or someone trained in combat techniques?"

Janet frowned. "Actually, sir, it might have been easier if they didn't. You're forgetting that they have to be able to control this 'warrior'. If it was a young girl, they would be easier to manipulate - particularly as up until recently females had much fewer rights than men. Also, we don't know anything about the technology used. For all we know, it could only work on females, something about the male anatomy making them incompatiable with the technology."

The General looked deep in thought. "That's a sensible hypothesis doctor; however, I don't see how that affects our current situation. Captain Carter? Do you have any more to add?"

"No sir, however I did visit Daniel's office and found notes stating that apparently the original Spanish settlers named Sunnydale the 'Mouth of hell' and had plenty of warnings about not going there. He also found out that a group known as the 'Order of Dagoon' was meant to be guarding the Key and that they seemed to have been wiped out earlier this year. Apparently, they were an obscure branch of the Catholic Church and were often described as Monks. If he did have anything on Glorificus or what the Key is then it's in his computer."

General Hammond nodded. "Very well, Doctor Fraiser? What do you have for us? And then Colonel perhaps you can take the remaining members of SG1 to check out this 'Magic Box' for clues."

Janet nodded. "Well I analysed the blood and I found that…"

It had been quiet for the last ten minutes, and as far as Dawn could make out, her captors had all disappeared off somewhere. Now was the perfect time to put her real plan into action. She bit her lip as she pulled the small object out from where she had hidden it and flipped the mobile open. A grin grew on her face as she found that she had a good signal and impatiently dialled the number she knew by heart. Maybe she should call the SGC first but she was more interested in talking to her dad. It had a been a long day and she need to know that he was looking for her...

Jack pulled out his mobile wondering how on earth he was getting a signal and debated cutting it off in favour of whatever Janet had found when he noticed that everyone was looking at him. Giving them a 'Who me look?', he pressed the answer button.

"Colonel O'Neill."

_Dad! It's me, look I don't have much time, is everyone else there?_

"Dawn? Where are you? Are you OK? They haven't hurt you have they?" He could heard Dawn's sniff and frowned, his face worried. "Dawn?"

_They've been fine. They let me do what I want most of the time except for going anywhere on my own and this crazy lady called Jen who keeps trying to make me eat cake and drink lemonade. They've locked me in this room now after I almost got away._

Jack felt a proud smile spreading over his face. "OK, Dawn, I'm just going to put you on speaker. I'm in the briefing room and we were all just talking about you." He put the phone on speaker and placed it in the middle of the long table just as Dawn's voice came again.

_Wait. You're getting my signal all the way in the mountain?_

Jack nodded, before remembering that Dawn couldn't see them. "Yes, but Cater can look into it later. Right now, can you explain to us anything that could help us find you? Maybe describe your surroundings?"

On the other side of the table, General Hammond was having an urgent conversation with Sam Carter before she left the room at a jog. The General turned back to the conversation where Dawn was going over what had happened so far.

Dawn sighed. _They knocked me out in the alley, but right now I'm in a cave of some sort. Wherever it is, it's been carved out, and I doubt that it was purposely built for me. Anyway, it looks like they had to move here in a hurry. There isn't any real furniture, there's just travel or camping style stuff. Like those chairs you use whenever you would take me up to the cabin, Dad. And, apparently, Anne and Spike had to go out to get some clothes and food and stuff. I haven't seen them back yet._ She took a breath before continuing . _I'm also not the only one here. There's a young woman about Red's age with dirty blonde hair. She's completely bonkers and they've got her locked up in a cave similar to mine. I asked about her and she's apparently someone the other bad guys thought was me. When they found out they had the wrong person, they apparently did something to her and now she's totally cuckoo and talks about the pretty green light. What's really interesting though is how they're locking the caves._

"What do you mean?" Jack asked, warily. "They're not piling boulders over the entrance, are they?"

Dawn gave a snort. _Nope, they're using some sort of force field. The boundaries are marked by these small glowing stones. It feels like trying to swim through jelly when you throw yourself at it. They wouldn't let me see how they did it, but it was Red that did it. The others covered me with crossbows. _

"Crossbows?" Jack asked. "Why not guns or something?"

_No idea, but I haven't seen any weaponry that would count as modern. It's all old style stuff. Not that they were useless, whatever they were loaded with they made the other guys go poof._

Jack and Janet exchanged uneasy looks while Teal'c frowned slightly. "Yeah… we've had our own run in with them. What else did they say?"

_Not a lot. Look, I have to go, there's someone coming. If I leave this on, can you track it? _

Jack opened his mouth to answer when they suddenly heard the sounds of a scuffle on the other end. The cell phone was cut off quickly and Jack swallowed glancing down at the phone which for a few seconds had been a life line to his daughter. "Sir, permission to go find Captain Carter?"

General Hammond opened his mouth to give permission before closing it at Janet's head shake. "Denied, Colonel. Let's hear what Doctor Fraiser has to say first."

"I will find Captain Carter for you, Colonel O'Neill, and inform her of our new information," Teal'c commented, standing.

Jack shot him a quick smile. "Thanks, buddy. So, what did you want to tell us then, Doc?"

* * *

A/N: Oops... I did say it was time for the briefing, not that they'd actually talk about the issue. That happens next chapter... along with Jack's reaction.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"Captain Carter!"

Sam turned around as she exited the elevator to find an airman hurrying towards her. What was his name again? Rogers? Samson? "Yes, Airman?"

"We've picked up the signal from the tracking devise that Colonel O'Neill had installed in Doctor Jackson's cell phone after he got lost that time."

Sam blinked, and then gave a small smile. She remembered the incident well. Jack had been going nuts after Daniel had failed to arrive back home and had insisted on the bug being installed after it turned out that Daniel had got sidetracked and ended up in one of the local libraries. She didn't know how they could have forgotten it. Sam had designed it herself for the simple purpose that they'd be able to find it anywhere that there was satellite coverage. "Where?"

"In Italy, ma'am. They're just narrowing the location down now." The man shifted nervously as Sam stared at him deep in thought.

"Very good, Airman." The man blinked and gave her a small nervous smile before heading back to his post.

Sam frowned to herself as she headed up to the communications centre. She could have easily tried to track down the location of the cell that Dawn was using in her lab but it would be easier if she did it from the control room. Then she could check that the two were from the same location. After all, it was quite possible that the pair would have been separated and then the SGC would have to decide which to go after first, or if it was possible to go after both at the same time.

-

Janet bit her lip nervously before handing over a copy of the papers to the two remaining men. The Colonel flicked through them, pretending not to understand any of it as General Hammond placed it neatly in front of him and looked at the Doctor expectantly.

"A summary, if you please, Doctor Fraiser."

Janet swallowed. "These are the results from the blood work you wanted done, Colonel, as well as some other… relevant papers."

"I could have said that, Doc, but what I'm curious about is why some of my old psyche reports are here?"

Janet took a deep breath. "I'll get to that in a minute, sir. First of all, I'd like to explain what I found."

General Hammond nodded and gestured for her to continue. "We don't have all day, Doctor."

"Very well, sir. One of the first tests I did was a paternity test to ascertain whether Miss Summer's claims were accurate. It turns out they are. Biologically, Miss Summers is your daughter."

She glanced at the Colonel. "But that's not all. When those claims were proven true, I ran a comparison test against the record we have for Miss O'Neill's DNA. It was a nearly identical match. Not quite perfect, but more than enough for any court to consider them identical twins, if you take out the matter of their ages."

"That's not possible. Sara O'Neill was Dawn's mother. Wasn't that right, Colonel?" General Hammond interrupted.

Jack nodded. "I remember the day she was born, Doc. She's mine and Sara's, I know that for a fact."

"Not according to her DNA, sir." Janet commented. "We don't have a DNA match for Mrs O'Neill on file but…" she shrugged. "I'm sorry if it's a bit of a shock sir, but there's more. After finding out the results, I did a bit more digging. I called Captain Carter up to enquire exactly what files the hacker looked at. As you are aware, he looked mostly at the personnel files… Colonel O'Neill's in particular." She gestured at the pile of papers. "If you could just look at the section I've circled on page 14…"

General Hammond looked at it and blinked. "This is the psyche report done on Colonel O'Neill after the crystal incident!"

"Yes sir, but more importantly, if you look at what Dr. MacKenzie wrote, he clearly states 'the guilt of the death of Colonel O'Neill's only child'. It's not the only incident and from what I can see there are a number of subtle references like this. Add in that Miss O'Neill's records are strangely lacking in detail and there is a possibility that…"

"She's a mole." General Hammond commented as Janet fell quiet.

"Yes, sir." Janet agreed.

They both turned to look at Jack who was gazing down at the papers in his hand, flicking through them, the look on his face that of someone torn with indecision. Janet knew how he felt. In less than five minutes she had just turned his entire world upside down. General Hammond opened his mouth to ask if the Colonel wanted some time to think about it, when a mask slid down over Jack's face leaving it emotionless apart from a hint of determination shining through.

"She's still my daughter, sir. It doesn't matter how she came to be here."

"I wasn't saying she wasn't, Colonel," Janet interrupted. "In fact, from the original recording I would say that Dawn is as unaware as you were before. Otherwise, Miss Summers wouldn't have been so keen on keeping her in the dark about what was happening. I'm sure we can all agree she is as innocent in this as we believed previously."

"Good." Jack glanced down at the paper and smoothed it out absentmindedly from where he had crumpled the pages. "Permission to leave, sir?"

"Granted," General Hammond stated, but as Jack stood to leave he hesitated. "But don't let this interfere with the mission, Jack. If you don't think you can handle it, give command to Captain Carter."

"Yes, sir," Jack answered, already moving towards the door.

In the room, General Hammond waited until Jack had left and then turned to Janet with a sigh. "You're sure about these results?"

"Yes, sir," Janet answered. "I ran everything twice. There's no way it was a mistake."

"And if they simply planted the sample of DNA you were using as a reference to Miss O'Neill? They seem to have meddled with a lot of memories… not just ours, but everyone who Miss O'Neill has ever come into contact with."

Janet winced. "I'm sure, sir. From what I could find, Miss O'Neill has been with us about a year. Anything before than we can presume was fabricated. The DNA sample was taken after that incident with the NID… that was less than eight months ago and should be safe."

General Hammond sighed. "I hope for Jack's sake your right Doctor - and I am not looking forward to telling the president that despite all our precautions the SGC was compromised. It is the last thing we need right now. Dismissed."

Janet nodded and headed out. She didn't know how she was going to tell Cassie what they had found. It wasn't the sort of thing you could just come out and say. She sighed as she thought about how Jack must be feeling. To not only find that he had another daughter, but that the daughter he had thought was his was actually a clone created to force him into protecting something… and to find out that the daughter he had never known about was almost suicidal… It had to have thrown him into a loop. She didn't know how he could be so calm.

-

Back in the cave system where the Scoobies were hiding out, Daniel was talking animatedly with Giles; the man was intelligent and knew a lot about different myths and legends. Daniel found himself getting caught up with the conversation, something that happened so rarely he found himself enjoying it. The others had disappeared off somewhere and the pair of them were sitting together in a small cave that had obviously been arranged in the form of a study. Opposite them, Daniel could see a larger cave that looked like a library. He was just trying to figure out a way to get Rupert to let him have a look when he realised that Giles had just asked a question.

"Pardon?"

"I was just wondering if you had ever taken an interest in the Babylonian myths. There was a particularly interesting one involving a god of the name Beleus and a demon woman of the name Omoroca. She was said to have been a great help to the people of the area. An unusual history for a demon…"

Daniel blinked, momentary surprise flickering across his face. It had to be a coincidence… then he blinked, frowning as if trying to remember. "I'm not sure I remember…"

He looked back up to find the man shaking his head. "While we are glad that your memory was not adversely affected must you continue with this charade?"

Daniel frowned. "What? I don't…"

A slight cough from behind him caused Daniel to spin around, suddenly noticing the narrow back entrance hidden behind a coat rack. He also noticed the missing others. The red head and the tall man named William were watching them.

"If that's the case, then how come I can smell a lie on you?" William asked contemptuously. "I wasn't sure before, but it's obvious now. You hesitated just a little too long." He glanced at his companionm smirking slightly. "Told you the books would make his mind go funny."

Daniel opened his mouth to protest, but seeing the certainty in their eyes he sighed. "You can't fault me for trying."

"No," the red head commented. "But you lot are just making things all the more complicated. It was going to be really simple: get Dawn before the others got her, bring her here, hide out for a couple of days, then let her go. Friends would have taken care of things after if you managed to track us down and everyone would have been safe. Now, we have your lot all over us as well as everyone else."

Daniel frowned. "Why didn't you just tell us? If Dawn was in danger we could have helped…"

William laughed. "Things with the military aren't exactly what you would call fun and puppies, mate; besides, you're too mixed up with aliens and science. You wouldn't understand what we deal with if it hit you in the face. Even then you'd stick a fancy name on it and try to shove it into little neat boxes."

The red head cleared her throat. "As for warning you, it took us too long to find her anyway. We barely got there before the bad guys. We haven't even had time to get food and stuff sorted out. That's why William here and Anne were back in Colorado."

Daniel opened his mouth to argue and then closed it. "Maybe you could try explaining it to me. If it works out I could get the others to back off and I'd really like to see Dawn while I'm at it."

The others exchanged glances. Daniel, watching, suppressed a smile as he saw their resolve falter. Maybe they would get out of all this without any more blood shed. Then they could get back to dealing with the Goa'uld and the strange minions. Maybe these people would have information they could use at the SGC. He knew Sam would be interested in their transport method…

-

Jack scowled at the punching bag, throwing another right hook at it as he stepped out of the way of the backlash. Teal'c had headed off to do his kelnorim thing, claiming that he needed to be prepared for when they went to recover Dawn and Danny; Sam was working hard trying to track down Dawn or Danny's cell and that left him… with nothing to do but think.

He had never considered seriously that his past dalliances would have consequences. Even as a young man, he had thought that he had been so careful… Yet some how, it hadn't been enough. He had a daughter. Well, he already had Dawn but now he had another one…

His head hurt.

For a second, he found himself wishing in his head that none of this was true, that Anne… or Buffy… wasn't really his daughter. Then he pushed that thought away. She was his daughter, and he hadn't known about her. Now he had to figure out what the clone thing with Dawn was all about. Because Janet was right, the evidence she had found was convincing and as far as he could tell, now that he thought back about it, there were things that didn't make sense. Why had he agreed to the first mission? He would never have done that if Dawn had really been there. She meant everything to him.

He cursed as he found himself going back over how he could protect her and take care of his only daughter… and he slammed his fist back into the bag. The pain helped a little, distracting him from his thoughts, but it wouldn't be fixed until he'd tracked down whoever had done this to him and everyone else and got them to reverse it. Maybe then he could get to know both of his daughters properly… because Janet was right about that too, and Buffy had confirmed it. Dawn was an innocent in this and no matter what his memories said, he didn't want her to suffer for that.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Just a short note to explain that I'm off to Uganda in 2 weeks and I'll be gone for a month and a bit... so don't expect updates. On the bright side, I have pre-loaded the next 3 chapters to the documents thing, so if I come across somewhere you might get something. It all depends... and no I won't give you all the chapters now. I need some in reserve for emergencies!

Oh, and page breaks are missing again but the changes should be pretty obvious so enjoy!

Dream

* * *

**Chapter 12**

Dawn glared at Anne as the woman disconnected the cell phone and glared at her. She had tried to stop her, but the woman had held her off easily. Now she was sitting in the corner watching as the woman took the phone and ground it under her boot. She just hoped that the SGC had enough time to locate her call. Somehow she doubted it with how quick Anne had been.

"You do know how expensive those things are, right? And Red is going to be really pissed off when she finds that I had to smash up her favourite toy."

"My heart bleeds." Dawn snapped sarcastically. "I'd go out and buy her a new one but I might get lost."

Anne rolled her eyes and gestured to the duffel bag dumped just inside the door. "You know I was coming to give you your PJs and some dinner, but instead what do I find?" She paused for a second, glaring at Dawn before sighing. "Look, you do know we're just trying to help you here. Couldn't you please co-operate? Just for two more days?"

Dawn let out a snort. "You don't expect me to believe all that crap do you? Honestly, no one kidnaps people 'for their own good'. There is always a reason behind it." The sarcastic smirk fell off her face and she glared at Anne suddenly. "So maybe these guys are after me, but why the hell can't my dad look after me instead? You know how much resources the SGC has - you hacked into them!"

Anne sighed. "They wouldn't believe us. Besides, sending you off world or hiding you at the base would never have worked. We're fighting a being that just got annoyed when we dropped a building on her head. Short of a nuclear weapon, nothing the military has would take her out and you think men would stop her?"

Dawn didn't comment, glaring at her. Rolling her eyes, Anne sat down on the floor, the grace causing Dawn to frown slightly. Nothing human she had seen or heard of moved with that sort of grace. It was like the woman in front of her was part cat.

Anne continued. "We've told you that you're wanted, and that what they want you for is something bad, right? We haven't told you details because we don't want you panicking. Believe me when I say no one would be happier than me if when this was all over you left and we never heard from you again. Hell, if you had a reason to hear from us I'd still be happy. To get that all we have to do is make sure this female being that's after you doesn't catch up for the next few days. After that time, what's she's trying to do won't work and she knows that. She'll look for another way to get what she wants and you'll be fine. I'll go back to my normal job and probably die in the next year or so and you'll grow up, get married, get a job and live."

"You sound jealous," Dawn commented, leaning against the wall. She wanted to get up, attack this woman, beat her until she was allowed to leave, but it wouldn't happen. The woman was too good.

The woman, Anne, laughed. "Jealous? Maybe I would have been - once. Now… I'm almost burnt out, Dawn. I've been fighting almost five years and I'm tired." She gestured at the bag and stood. "You can put a sheet up or something, there's space in there and I'll make sure that I'm the next one to come back. Get changed, have some of your snack food, then get some sleep." She cast an unreadable look at the teenager. "You look like you need it."

With that she turned and left the room, leaving Dawn with a bag of accessories and too many thoughts. Sighing, Dawn accepted the woman's advice and settled down. It had been late when she was kidnapped and she had been too wired to sleep. Now, though, exhaustion was creeping up and her eyes were slowly betraying her as they nearly drooped shut. Anne's advice was good. She'd take it and see how things were when she woke up…

The NID Major scowled down at where the cell phone was lying in the trash. They'd rushed here as soon as they got the call, only to find out that it was wrong and this wasn't where Doctor Jackson had been taken. Not that it was that much of a surprise. The Scoobies as they called themselves would not have survived in a place as dangerous in Sunnydale for long if they were stupid. No, they'd have been eaten, or turned, or maybe kidnapped through some dimensional portal… After all, it wasn't as if his superiors had ever managed to get a decent picture of what went on in that town.

"Sir, we found something interesting."

The major frowned as he followed the soldier to a nearby alley. There, with his men pointing guns directly at him, stood a man dressed in clothes that would have been more fitting in as medieval re-enactment society. Even more importantly the Major ran his eyes up and down the man, taking in the authentic and obviously well used sword belted to his waist, before turning to his men.

"So, send him on his way."

His subordinate smiled. "He was wearing this sir. We don't know yet how it activated, but when he wears it, it makes him invisible."

The major blinked. "Perhaps you should escort the man back to base. I'm sure our superiors would be interested in meeting him. For now, we have something more important to find…"

The man glared at the major in response to his slightly condescending tone before he blinked, and let a small grin cross his face. "I assume you are searching for the Slayer and her friends." His comment caused the major to pause, half turning back to look at their newest captive. "Let me go, give me back my talisman, and I will help you for it seems we share a common goal… Once I have the permission of my superiors, of course."

The major turned back to the man and lifted an eyebrow, carefully looking him over. Eventually, he nodded his approval. This man obviously had access to advanced technology hidden as 'magic talismans' that were probably similar to those this Slayer and her friends had. Also, from his tone of voice, he wasn't exactly feeling warm and fluffy towards them. Maybe he could help the rogue unit discover where his targets were hiding… Either way, a little co-operation couldn't hurt…

Willow glanced at Giles hesitantly. Daniel was watching them expectantly and Giles was polishing his glasses. All Willow could remember was how angry Buffy had been when she found out what the monks had done. It was only after she had finally calmed down a little that the gathered Scooby gang had managed to settle down for a serious talk about what to do. Even then Buffy had made it clear on one issue. She didn't want her new found 'father' or her 'sister' to know the truth about what was happening if they didn't know already. She wanted them to eventually get on with their lives after all this was over… not become a target because of her 'job'.

Even worse was the fact that at the time, the others had agreed. They had decided that they didn't have the right to drag others into 'their world'. Each of them knew that they wouldn't change finding out about Buffy for anything - not least because it actually kept them alive for longer. For someone else… outside Sunnydale… things were different. All four of them had experience of what happened when people couldn't cope with the supernatural. They all knew about Sunnydale syndrome and the daily struggle of a lot of people to pretend that it wasn't true. So they all understood Buffy's demand that her remaining 'family' weren't told.

Now they were about to break their word and Willow could not help thinking that this would only make a bad situation worse.

"You know the Slayer isn't going to be happy with this," Spike commented to her, coming forward so he could glare at Daniel. "She had good reasons - you agreed with them!"

"What reasons?" Daniel asked casually, blinking up at the man.

Spike glared at him, before looking between Willow and Giles. "You should tell her at least if you're going to break the one demand she made. Hell, she was even willing to consider your stupid idea involving the knights!"

Giles glanced over at her, clearly uncomfortable, and Willow sighed. "I'll go find her," she stated. "In the mean time, maybe you could tell us what you think is happening. It might help to know how wrong you are."

Daniel frowned. "You don't even know what we think and you're saying we're wrong? Isn't that a bit arrogant?"

Spike shook his head. "Not when we know that you're all into science-y stuff. Add in past experience and it's as sure as the fact that Tabitha's a witch that you'll think we're nuts or you won't believe us."

Willow chuckled at the reference to Spike's favourite show and he glanced over at her. She wondered when she should tell him that while the actress that played Tabitha certainly wasn't 300 years old, she was still a witch if the gossip in Jenny's old chat rooms was to be believed. Focusing back on the main topic, the half smile faded away and she turned to find Buffy.

Xander and Anya glanced up as Buffy walked back into the cave where they had set up their main base of operations. He managed a grin at the exhausted young woman before tossing the finished stake he had been whittling into a waiting box nearby. Checking to make sure Anya wasn't around (he really did not need her to be jealous at the moment) he stood up and gave his favourite Slayer a hug. She looked like she needed it.

"What is it now?" he finally asked, giving her a small smile. "Cause we can't have the Slayer down in the dumps… We need you in tip top shape for Glory." Then he blinked and stared at Buffy horrified. "Oh. dear God, I sound like Giles!"

Buffy looked up at him and giggled. The look of terrified shock on his face coupled with the mock British accent he was putting on meant that she couldn't help giving a small laugh. Xander let the act drop and wrapped an arm around her, steering her over to a bench against the nearest wall.

"Seriously, how are you?"

Buffy sighed and tried to give him a small smile. "When I heard I had family, I thought that maybe I could have another chance… You know, after Mom died. Then all this came up and…" she blinked looking down. "Dawn hates me. She sees me as her evil kidnapper." She glanced up at him. "She had a cell. I heard her on it, and I went in to try to take it away before someone managed to trace the signal or something and she attacked me!"

Xander shook his head. "It's understandable, B… Anne. You can't expect to go in and say 'Hi! I'm a complete stranger. Want to be best friends while you sit in my evil hide out for a few days?"

Buffy rolled her eyes. "I know that… I just hoped that… you know… maybe there would be some sort of connection…"

Xander gave her a reassuring smile and wrapped his arms around her. "Of course there's a connection. The only problem is that sisters tend to argue lots, right? After everything's sorted out, and Glory's dealt with, maybe we can look into a way to get you to meet up with her again?"

Buffy chuckled sadly. "Thanks, but its never going to happen."

"Really? We deal with the impossible and the supernatural - so out of everybody who are we to say never?"

Buffy shook her head. "We are. Knowing everything we've gone through and…" she paused and smiled fondly at one of her best friends. "Thanks for cheering me up."

Xander smiled down at her. "Don't mention it."

Buffy leaned back into his arm, the smile slowly fading off her face, before they both sat up straight. Footsteps coming down the passage separating the caves in two echoed around the small section - a rather useful defence effect as it amplified everything in the passage, but nothing through the door. They watched expectantly, hands straying towards the knives they both wore now that Dawn was locked away. They relaxed slightly when they spotted Willow.

"Anne, Daniel wants to know what's going on."


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** First of all, I'm very sorry for not updating this as often as I should. My excuse is that I really don't like the format that has for updating stories... that and the fact that they keep tkaing out my page breaks whenever I try and post a chapter. It means hat little bit of effort and so I keep putting things off. To make up for it I'll put all the chapters I have done up and give you the link to the place where I regularly update (or at least I have when I'm not off in Africa)

Sorry again everybody.

Dream

* * *

**Chapter 13**

"Well?" 'William' asked Daniel.

The archaeologist glanced up at him with a disarming smile. It was ignored and Daniel sat up straighter, dropping the 'I'm a harmless archaeologist' act, putting on the 'I'm a member of the SGC's best team and you better tell me what you've done with my teammates' look. 'William' just stared at him, unimpressed, causing Daniel to frown internally. He really needed to watch Jack more and practise his own glare sometime…

"Don't you want to wait for your friends?" he finally asked, not relaxing.

'Ripper' shook his head. "There really is no need. I suspect that Red made the suggestion simply so that you would not be too bored or try escaping while she was finding the others."

Daniel blinked. "Really?"

William snorted. "Oh yeah, Red's smart, she is. After all, how many people do you know that can maintain a life size robot that can pass as the original from household materials on a budget of less than fifty pounds a week? That takes skill."

"Well, it was mostly simple patching jobs," Red commented, causing Daniel to twist around to see the 'others' who had just arrived. "It helps that I had that robot Anne took out to work from and it wasn't meant to be doing anything more strenuous than look after the house and answer the door while we were busy."

Daniel noticed Anne shudder. "Moving on please. I thought we all agreed that they wouldn't believe us even if we tried to explain it and that they would never need to know."

"That was when time was of the essence. And while your other points were valid…"

Anne glared at him. "They were more than valid."

The guy with the messy hair rolled his eyes. "What Ripper is trying to say is that we knew they'd get curious - we just didn't think they'd work out this much so quickly. So now that they are likely to find out more…" he glanced at the others for help.

"Look, it would be better if we told Daniel at least because then when they try to go searching for these things later, they'll be more careful and less likely to be killed." Anne opened her mouth, but the red head held up her hand as Anne opened her mouth. "And yes we know that we weren't going to tell them anything but they've already got enough that if they start digging they're going to stir up a very big hornets nest."

Daniel watched the argument going back and forth, surprised that they would let him see them arguing. He would have thought that they would have moved the argument somewhere else - if only to keep up the illusion that they were a united front. After all, working with the SGC had taught him to look through people's words to the underlying meaning and then how to use their disagreements to manipulate them. On the other hand… if they were comfortable enough to argue in front of their 'captive', that could mean that this was something they regarded as normal. If it was, it simply showed the depth of friendship they had.

He was jolted out of his thoughts when he sensed the argument beginning to wind down and he waited to see what they had decided.

"Fine, but don't look at me when it all falls apart or our army friends get annoyed with us."

She turned to gaze at him and Daniel shivered. There was something very old and angry in her eyes that seemed to glare at him as if it was his fault. Then she blinked and he just saw sadness and regret. He wondered what had happened.

"OK… so what first?"

The group shared glances with each other, before the British guy, who was apparently their spokesman spoke up. "I'll start, but I warn you not to interrupt. You can ask questions at the end and we'll show you our proof then, too."

Jack rolled his eyes. Since Dawn's kidnapping he'd had barely any sleep, only eaten the food that his team mates had forced him to and suffered through Janet's poking with bad grace. He was only glad that SG1 hadn't had anything particularly dangerous or distracting to make them stay late. If things had gone as they usually did, they wouldn't have been back the morning after Dawn had been kidnapped - rather than a couple of hours. They would have been too late and whatever the crazy people had been planning would have been over and done with… Dawn might have been dead and he wouldn't have been able to do anything to stop it.

He lay back on the bunk he used when he stayed on base and thought back over the revelations Janet had made to him. He still hadn't told his team yet, though he had a feeling that the General would tell them soon. They deserved to know their memories had been messed with - he just wished that he could tell them himself. It was just telling Sam or the others that his daughter was a plant…

"Colonel"

Jack glanced up to see Sam looking down at him. "Yeah?"

"I managed to trace the call. We're just waiting for a satellite image of the place and then we're heading out. General Hammond has cleared us as soon as we have a better idea of the location."

Jack pulled himself up, brushing a hand back through his hair. "Where is it?"

"A place in Scotland." She paused as he pulled on a jacket and turned back towards her. "Sir, he's also made this a Foothold situation. With the evidence of Dawn's…" she glanced up at Jack who had made his face carefully blank. "The NID are out on this one, sir. It's up to the SGC now. We can call in other resources, but…" She sent him a reassuring smile, letting him take in the news that the NID couldn't interfere and get hold of either of his daughters before he could get there.

Jack sent her a small grin in return. "Good. We'll have Dawn and Daniel back in no time." He turned to her suddenly, frowning. "Does Teal'c know yet?"

"Yes, sir. He's just gathering his things. He wants to be prepared."

Jack nodded. It sounded like the Jaffa.

Captain Fulham glanced at the man standing next to him and the spinning rod in his hands. Every now and again the rod would pause and twitch in a direction and the man would stare hard at it and then frown and mutter to himself. It obviously made much more sense to him than it did to the Captain.

"Got your results yet?"

The man turned and glared at him. "My comrades and I are working hard at penetrating wards that have been crafted by some of the most powerful people currently alive. You won't get results in an hour, even if we knew exactly what we were trying to penetrate."

The captain turned away, rolling his eyes. He didn't know why his superiors insisted that he play along with these fools, but they were convinced that if they did they would get one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. All he had to do was play along until they had a confirmed location, wait until they had helped penetrate the defences and then swoop in and steal the key before these fruitcakes could. And as far as the Captain was concerned, it couldn't happen quickly enough…

"You have got to be joking." Daniel stated in pure disbelief. "Vampires and demons?"

Spike glared at him. "This is why we didn't tell your lot before - besides you're the guy that goes on happy little walks exploring the galaxy through a shiny blue puddle. What's wrong with a little magic?"

Daniel glared at them, before sighing in resignation. They did have a point. "You said you had proof?"

Spike smirked and shifted into his vamp face. "You want to feel my fangs?"

Four hundred miles away from the Captain, another man with a similar spinning rod let out a small smile, even as his own escort straightened in shock. The rod he was holding had risen up into the air and stopped spinning. It was no longer searching out a direction, but focusing in on a set point. Back with the head mage a similar smile grew, as he heard the other mages call in via their amulets that their rods had also focused on a direction.

"Captain, we have located them."

Fulham blinked. "You have?"

The mage sent him a look that would have cut through stone. "We have. Where are your maps? I will show you the co-ordinates and then your people will take us there with all speed."

Straightening up, Fulham nodded to the man and motioned for a soldier to bring the maps. Carefully, the man marked on the directions that the various mages had gained and used a ruler to draw them out over the large but detailed map. He smiled to himself grimly when one by one the various lines intersected with each other to create an irregular star. Behind him, the captain leaned over and raised an eyebrow at the location highlighted.

"They're hiding in Scotland?"

"A good place for them to go to ground," the Mage assured him. "There are lots of old houses there and old houses mean old magic. Short of leaving the English speaking world, there aren't many better places they could shelter." He sniffed, "Now, when will our plane be getting there?"

The captain shook his head, and headed off, trusting the mage to follow him. The plane had been arranged and had been waiting for half an hour, all the crew needed to do was file their flight plan.

Daniel shuddered. There was something - dangerous - about the man, something that Daniel had noticed before but put it off. Now the man wasn't hiding it, he could understand what had changed. His every movement spoke of predator, and Daniel felt a deep instinctive fear beginning to build up in him. In some ways it was worse than facing the snakes… at least with them you knew that bullets would kill them. Now, looking at this monster…

"Daniel - snap out of it." Willow commented, stepping over. "William, put your normal face back on."

With difficulty, Daniel shook off the shock and looked up dazed at the red head. She was holding a cup of tea out and looking at him in concern. "Sorry, but we haven't really done it before with normal people, and on our scale you're so far down the normal route, you're the opposite - what with you being so used to technology and…"

"Red, breathe." The guy called Tony ordered as Daniel took the cup and sniffed it warily. "Just drink it, if we wanted to drug you we'd just hold you down and pour it down your throat. It'll help with the shock."

Daniel nodded, and took a cautious sip, the warm fluid flowing down his throat and making him feel slightly calmer. He took another mouthful and then frowned as he gazed into it. He was sure that he had tasted Chamomile, but there was other things in there he couldn't identify. He wondered what it was and how it could be acting this fast. Even Janet's sedatives took a minute or two to work… "What's in this?"

"A couple of herbs, nothing bad for you." Buffy assured him. "Need more proof?"

Daniel frowned. If he said yes, they would keep giving examples and he might find out some more information, he might even find something he knew to be technology. Although, thinking back, maybe the Nox had used magic. They seemed to follow the Wicca code with the 'do no harm' thing… and Sam hadn't been able to come up with any explanation of how they might have done what they had. But he didn't think he could cope with his world view being messed up any more, he needed time to think about things. Most importantly, he still had no idea how William had done that thing with his face and until he did he didn't think he would be able to take any of this in. He stalled for time, taking another mouthful of warm tea, but before he could say anything more - Red stiffened.

"Guys, we've got company – and whoever they are, they've got some serious mojo going for them."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Right people, I have officially decided that this takes place just after mid-season 2 of Stargate. A more accurate description of when it happens will be shown later in this story, but I'm not saying any more because it might give away the story line. All you need to know is that it will leave a pretty big opening for a sequel. So that is something to look forward to… if you're not mad at me for not uploading...

**

* * *

****Chapter 14**

Everyone turned at Willow's announcement to see that she had slumped down against the wall, her face twisted into a mask of concentration. Instantly, Daniel was forgotten as her friends crowded around her in concern. For a second, he hesitated before slipping through the hidden passage to see if he could find Dawn. Maybe these people were telling the truth, but Dawn was his priority. If these people were keeping her locked up somewhere in pain then he wanted to know about it. Then he could discard their pretty words as lies and ignore the nagging voice at the back of his head that said they were telling the truth and he should trust them.

"Dawn?" he whispered cautiously. "Are you here?"

He waited until he was sure that he wasn't going to get a response before heading deeper into the maze, counting the turns as his parents had taught him when he was small. He didn't want to get stuck in here after all.

Despite Daniel's certainty that they hadn't seen him slip out, that wasn't the case. Buffy, Spike and Willow had all seen him leave, but they hadn't bothered to stop him. They knew that even if he was able to find Dawn, he wouldn't get her out of her 'room'; the wards were too strong for that. So, temporarily glad that the man was out of their hair and being 'sneaky', they got down to the latest problem. Besides, it wasn't as if he could do anything. They'd learnt from their lesson with Dawn and ensured that any weapons, things that could signal a location to the outside world, or other 'incriminating evidence' was safely locked away.

"OK," Buffy stated, taking charge. "Willow, is there any way to get a look at what's happening? I know we couldn't get cameras set up, but…"

Willow nodded. "There is a spell… has anyone got a mirror or a bowl of water?"

"Here's one," Xander offered, before hesitating and looking pensive. "Look, Buff, what are we going to do with Daniel - 'specially now as we've been found? We can't exactly knock him out and run again - he's too heavy and Dawn isn't that light either."

Buffy hesitated. "What do you guys think?"

Giles looked up. "We can't send him with Dawn. He'd simply try to help her escape back to that base of theirs. I think it best if we kept him here for now."

Spike nodded. "Stick to the original plan, pet. Me and the witch head off with the little bit and the rest of you act as rearguard 'til you can join us."

Buffy nodded. "OK. But what…"

"Guys, I got it."

They gathered around Willow quickly, staring at the wavering image that she was creating in a watery bowl. It kept flickering in and out of focus, but if you watched closely you could see… and it wasn't looking good.

SG1 were already in the stealthed Pave Hawk helicopter with SG8, while SG team 3 and the recently formed SG 10 were following in another. Sam was crouched over her laptop, focusing on getting a satellite feed while Jack ran through the various scenarios of what they would find in his head. First priority was Dawn and Daniel, he had to get them free and safe then he could focus on finding out what exactly his daughter and her friends knew about the Stargate and this new threat. He could also use that time to get her away from whomever the Goa'uld or Tok'ra that was 'helping' them was - and he would take great delight in giving the snake a lecture on getting young adults involved in these sorts of things…

"Sir, I've got a feed. You'll want to take a look at this."

Carter's voice came through his radio into his ear and he gave her a thumb up to show he had heard her and maneuvered towards her. Teal'c was sitting next to her focused on the screen of her laptop, and Jack raised an eyebrow at the faint frown on the Jaffa's face.

"What is it?"

"It seems, O'Neill, that the NID arrived before us and that they did not come alone."

Jack frowned, spinning the screen around towards him. Blinking in surprise, he noted the way that the NID had surrounded the target… but weren't moving in. Instead, they seemed to be waiting for five people dressed in black robes to finish something. He glanced at the side bar before clicking the appropriate buttons to zoom in. Was that a blue wall surrounding the building? And what was the guy doing with his hands pressed against it?

"Carter, what are they doing?"

She shrugged. "I would guess that Dawn's kidnappers have somehow got a force field of some kind at that the NID are trying to get through it. If you look closely, they're focused on these three points, and there seems to be a web of lighter blue around where they're touching it that's slowly spreading outwards. I'm guessing that whoever the NID's new friends are they have experience in this and the NID brought them in so they could get inside."

Jack snorted. "If the NID have friends who can dismantle force fields why didn't they tell us? Something stinks here, Carter."

She gave him a quick smile. "I agree, sir, but the fact is that people we know are NID are down there and that the strangers are helping them."

Jack chewed on his lip. "OK, I'll tell the pilot to drop us down on the other side of those hills there. Hopefully the hills will provide enough cover that they won't notice we're there. Something tells me that no one down there will be too happy to see us. Once there, we'll move in and get a better idea of the situation. For now," he gestured at the lap top with a grimace, "just get what info you can. See if you can get any idea of where Dawn and Daniel are. I'm assuming the satellite can do that?" Carter gave him an amused nod and he relaxed slightly. "Well, just do your stuff."

With a nod to Teal'c, who was watching Carter's screen closely, he headed over to the pilot. He had orders to give.

Glory smiled to herself as her worshipers massaged her shoulders gently. She hadn't set her minions on a difficult path. All they had to do was go to Colorado and snatch the girl before the Slayer's crew got there. Sure, she had found it difficult to track down where the Key had went… following that monk had been a big waste of time… but once her spy had confirmed that the Key was in the custody of a blood relative of the Slayer...

She allowed herself a small smile at the thought. How foolish of the monks to put the Key in a place where it had so little protection - and in a flesh and blood form as well! It shouldn't have been too difficult for the minions she had sent to collect the Key without damaging it too badly. So why were they taking this long?

"Murk!"

"Yes, your Magnificence?"

"What is taking my minions so long?"

Murk swallowed. "Perhaps they wished to ensure the Key was brought to you safely and are taking all precautions, Glorious One…"

Glory scowled. "Bring me Doc."

"Yes, Your Gloriousness, I'll just go… get him for you."

Glory pouted as she watched her minions scurry from the room. Something was up and she wanted to get to the bottom of it. The ritual was tomorrow night and if she didn't have the Key by then… Well at the very least Glory was not looking forward to being stuck in this body for the rest of life. Add in the loss of strength when the bonds solidified… that was going to be the only time that she would have a chance to break the spells on her body because after all this pushing they were going to snap back tighter than a bulldog with a particularly meaty bone.

That reminded her. She was hungry.

"And someone better bring me some food!"

Dawn yawned as she heard a voice calling her name out quietly. The voice seemed familiar. Where had she heard it before?

"Dawn?"

It was Daniel! Thinking quickly, she moved up to the edge of the barrier and looked around to see if anyone was around anywhere. Relaxing slightly when she found that no, there was no one around, she called out.

"Daniel!"

He was there within a few seconds and was about to step forward to give her a hug when she stepped back shaking her head. "Dawn, what is it?"

"There's a one-way force field or something blocking the entrance. They can get in, but I can't get out. I don't want to find out that you can't either."

Daniel nodded, and glanced around for something that might turn off the force field, although considering what he had learnt about magic, it didn't seem likely. "I don't think it's a force field. I think its magic."

Dawn frowned. "Magic? What are you talking about? Did they do something to you?"

Daniel shook his head. "No, just showed me some things." He frowned down at the stones. "Maybe its better if you stay in there for now. What they said… they were very convincing."

Dawn's eyes widened. "What are you talking about? The best thing is to get out of here and back to the SGC… and how did you get here any way?" Her eyes widened. "This is just a trick. That's all. If you were really Daniel you'd know that I'd told the SGC about the stones already…"

Daniel frowned. "You've contacted the SGC? How did you do that?"

"A simple boosting spell. They're very popular around young teenagers - and useful."

Daniel spun around to stare at the new young woman (well, new for Daniel). "Who are you?"

Dawn rolled her eyes. "That's Jen. Let me guess," she sighed, glaring at the woman. "You've come to offer me more lemonade?"

Daniel blinked. "Why would she offer you lemonade?"

"Anne and the others asked that I keep an eye on Dawn while they looked after you. Now they are planning the best way to defend us, and they asked that I look after both of you." She smiled at him. "According to the TV I watched, lemonade and Coke are things that human kids like and feeding them things they like makes them sleepy."

Daniel blinked. "OK…"

Jen nodded. "Would you like some? I know you are not a kid, but..."

Giles waited until the others had left to prepare for their individual roles before calling Willow to the side. He frowned at her as she gazed up at him innocently. Finally, he sighed. "Willow, what did you put in Doctor Jackson's tea?"

Willow opened her mouth to reply, but he stared at her and she dropped her gaze. "I just added a few herbs to help him come around to our way of thinking. It isn't even noticeable and there are no side effects."

Giles sighed. "Willow, you can't go around messing with people's minds like that. For one thing, it is dangerous. What if you're meddling resulted in something bad happening? Magic isn't for you to rearrange the world to your own way of life. It is only to be used sparingly."

"I did use it sparingly! We haven't got any more rocks to keep him locked up and if he supports us and something goes wrong then we're more likely to get out of this fine!"

"And if the military accuses you of brainwashing one of their civilian consultants? Willow, I want you to promise that after this is all over, you and I will have a long talk about when it is suitable to use magic and when it is not."

Reluctantly, Willow nodded and watched as he left her to finish making her preparations. He was just jealous of her, she knew it. She'd done the right thing to protect Buffy and her friends and that was all that mattered. Besides, what did Giles know? Sure, he had made a few mistakes, but she was going to be more careful. She wouldn't let the trap he'd fallen into work on her. She was too careful…


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Yeah, just to say sorry again and PLEASE DON'T BE MAD AT ME - I'M SORRY!!

* * *

**Chapter 15**

Daniel was just opening his mouth to answer no, he wasn't hungry, when the one called Tony came up behind her. Jen smiled and turned giving the young man a big kiss. Daniel watched in fascination as the pair went into one of the steamiest kisses he had ever seen. The way they were moving… he could only stare. And then he realized Dawn was staring at them in opened mouthed shock and admiration.

"Dawn! Look away!"

She shot him a quick glance that plainly said 'no' and 'are you crazy?' and went back to staring. Daniel felt himself floundering suddenly and hurriedly stepped between Dawn and the duo. What they were doing was really indecent. Thankfully, before he could bring himself to say something, the one called Red appeared and knocked them on the back of their heads. They pouted and moved aside as she appeared, carrying a satchel which was partly open with various full test tubes peaking out.

"Can't you two keep your hands off each other for a few minutes? This isn't the time."

Tony looked sheepish but Jen didn't even try to look sympathetic. "We weren't having orgasms. We were just kissing."

Red rolled her eyes. "Fine, just try to concentrate on the job." She turned to Daniel. "You're going to be staying here with the others. We've been found and it'll only be a matter of time before they manage to penetrate the wards. William and I are going to take Dawn somewhere else. Unfortunately, you and the others are going to have to join us later. You're acting as rearguard."

Daniel opened his mouth to complain as the pair stepped into the cage, but hesitated for a split second. He felt reluctant to question them. There was a feeling inside that told him he should trust them, do what he was told by these teenagers… but that couldn't be right. He was Daniel Jackson, archeologist of SG1 and he did not just 'do what he was told'. Taking a deep breath, he ran his mind back over his thoughts, trying to figure out when that little voice had begun nagging at him… He remembered the tea, and suddenly he felt a wave of sadness that they didn't trust him.

"Have you drugged me?"

Glory glared at the unfortunate demon groveling before her. "Do you mean to tell me," she hissed, "that the Slayer and her friends stole my key out of your very clutches?" Picking the demon up by its neck, she threw it into the wall opposite her. Without a second glance, she strode from the room, her new dress swishing pleasingly as she stormed through her building.

"It seems I can't trust you idiots with anything. I will get the Key myself." She turned to glare at Muck. "And when I get back I expect everything to be ready. We only have tonight and tomorrow and I will not fail!"

Xander glanced up, shocked. "What?"

Daniel had clutched at his head and his breathing had speeded up. He stumbled slightly, as Willow hurried over, Xander holding Dawn back. "Red, what's wrong with him?"

Daniel let out a moan, curling up into a ball and clutching his head as Willow knelt down next to him. "I think he had a bad reaction to the tea I gave him." Placing her hand over his, she whispered something that neither Xander nor Dawn caught. "He should be fine when he wakes up, for now; I'll reverse the wards on Dawn's room and we can leave him in there. He'll be safer there - and I can set it so that its one way… he'll be able leave, but no one else will be able to enter."

Xander nodded, trusting his childhood friend. "OK, what about Dawn?"

Dawn twisted out of his grasp and glared at him. "If you think I'm going to eat or drink anything you've given me after what your 'tea' did to Daniel, you've got another thing coming!"

Willow rolled her eyes and sent Xander a questioning glance. He nodded and grabbed her again, holding her still against him as Willow came over and placed the same spell on her as she had just done on Daniel. The teenager slumped in Xander's arms and he swung her up so that he was carrying her in his arms. "How long will she sleep?"

"Just for a couple of hours, no more than four and no less than two." Willow stated calmly. "You take her up to Spike and I'll carry Daniel."

Xander frowned. "Are you sure you can manage him?"

Willow snorted. "It's not only pencils I can lift now, Xan." At her friends admonishing look, she gave him a smile. "I'll be fine, come on. We need to get out before they figure out where the breach is."

The helicopter had dropped them behind the hill just as planned and had left with no one the wiser. Now, Jack and the remaining members of SG1 were crouched at the top of the hill with the other SG teams. Luckily, the extensive forest that surrounded the manor house was both thick enough at the top of the hill to allow them a decent hiding place and thin enough further down the slope to not obscure the NID too badly. It also didn't obscure the strangely dressed people with the NID.

"Carter, are those people wearing _armor_?"

"It looks like it, sir."

"And I'm not imagining the swords either, right? Or the crossbows?"

Carter shook her head, her face a mask of confusion. "No, sir, I can see them too."

Jack let out a slight hiss as his breath escaped through gritted teeth. "Better and better."

Turning to Makepeace, he signaled for the man to come over, the other team leaders following when Jack repeated the gesture to them. "OK, we've got the NID, some guys dressed up as medieval knights and Dawn's kidnapers holed up in the mansion. So what we're going to do is secure the area first, and then we try to move in. The only problem is that shimmering dome thing. Carter, you got any idea what it is?"

"I would guess a force field of some sort, sir, and I'd guess that is why the NID seems to be playing along with the knights. They seem to be protecting the guys in robes more than anything else and the robe guys are definitely working on the barrier."

Jack nodded. "Right. Well, as none of us have any idea how to get that thing down, we're going to wait until they've done it for us. Once the barrier's down or the various geeks on our teams have figured out what the hell they're doing, we'll move in. In the mean time, we'll circle around and keep a close eye them. Maintain radio silence unless you've got something to report and even then keep it brief. If these guys can set up a force field who knows what other gizmos they have. I don't want them to know we're here until we're ready. Any questions?"

The various heads shook their heads and the leaders headed back to their own teams, Jack turning to face Teal'c who was as silent as ever. Jack gave him a grim smile. "So, ready for another round with my 'new daughter', T?"

Teal'c inclined his head. "I am ready, O'Neill, but I fear that should it come to single combat I will serve as no more than a distraction."

Jack nodded and tapped the zat strapped to his side. "A distraction maybe all we need, buddy," he commented cheerfully. "No matter how good she is, I doubt she could hold out long against a zat gun."

Teal'c inclined his head to Jack once more and then headed off towards the point that SG1 were going to watching. Jack and Sam followed his path carefully, knowing in matters of woodcraft, Teal'c was much better than them.

* * *

Captain Fulham bit his lip as he watched the Colonel playing civil with their 'guests'. Apparently, this General guy was interested in only one thing, and that was destroying something that Dawn's kidnappers were guarding. They hadn't said anything about what it was, why they wanted to destroy it, or anything else. The only thing they had revealed was that the whole purpose of their organization was destroying it. Not that it mattered; these whackos could have what they wanted so long as they didn't try to stop the NID getting this 'key' thing.

"Captain."

Fulham snapped to attention at the sound of Major Reed's voice. The man had a definite reputation as someone you did not want to cross and a fierce temper he had experienced personally to match. "Yes, sir!"

"Listen closely; apparently the 'wards' around this place are very strong, so the mages are going to transfer their efforts to making a door way instead. As soon as they've anchored it, you'll receive the signal and you and your men will be in charge of eliminating the mage's guards to the south. Got it?"

"Yes, sir."

The major nodded and stalked off to the next captain further around the perimeter. Behind him, Captain Fulham suppressed the small smile that had appeared at his superior's orders and signaled subtly for his men to move towards the south. Those 'knights' had been far too bossy when they had been trying to locate this place, and hadn't tired of putting them down. It wouldn't be too much trouble if some of the bullets accidentally missed a killing shot on the first try…

After all, with all the revelations about 'magic' and 'demons' the men had gotten today, you couldn't expect them to have their normal steady grip. A slight movement when aiming could put off the best shooter - and his men, while good, certainly weren't that. All he needed to do was point that out to his men… he was sure they would be as pleased with his observations as he was…

Buffy and the rest of the Scooby gang were checking their weapons when the others came up. Buffy glanced at Daniel floating unconscious and frowned. "He OK, Wills?"

Willow shrugged. "I think he had a slight allergic reaction to that calming tea I gave him. He'll be OK when he wakes up, but he'll probably have forgotten the last few hours."

Spike snorted. "This wouldn't be 'forgotten' like when he came off the roads, Red? Or is it 'wiped out of his mind for eternity' like?"

Willow shot him an unamused look. "He won't remember this time. I'm certain of it."

No one said anything after the look she gave them all, but Giles frowned slightly and glanced over at a small branch of something brown and dead was peeking out of Daniel's breast pocket. To anyone else it would have seemed like merely dirt or some other cave debris, but Giles knew better. It was a piece of Lethe's bramble and was commonly used in forgetting spells. It seemed Willow was doing worse than he had thought. He would really have to have that talk with her as soon as this mess was all over. Magic was not to be trifled with.

"Right then, people," Buffy announced in the sudden silence. "Places. Willow, you and Spike take Dawn to the South exit. You can break through the wards there. The rest of us will wait for them to break in at the North entrance."

Spike nodded, taking Dawn from Xander and hefting her over his shoulder. "Meet at the old high school in twenty four hours, OK?"

The crew nodded, each of them knowing exactly what they would do. Willow and Spike would head to their old friend the Gatekeeper and ask for sanctuary for a day. The young boy would probably put them up for a couple of hours and even Glory would hesitate in getting through their. Xander and Anya would head over to Vegas and hide out there until it was time to head back. Buffy and Giles would take Tara and shelter down in England in one of the council houses in case Glory was somehow tracking any of them. They didn't want to be near Dawn as they knew for a fact that Dawn herself couldn't be tracked directly - not with all the spells Willow had put on her. Daniel could be picked up by his friends when they were gone and the wards collapsed.

"Then let the battle begin." Xander announced, his goofy smile offset by the battle ax strapped to his back, the stakes in various pockets and the crossbow in his hands. "And may the Powers help us."


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

The SG teams had been waiting for an hour and it was getting dark. The teams were almost ready to take down the mixture of NID agents and wanna be knights guarding the perimeter before night feel properly and visual conditions became difficult to operate in. Jack in particular was getting annoyed; the lack of activity from the mansion was getting on his nerves. Sure, the occupants might not bother showing themselves if they were convinced the shield was working, but all the teams were reporting a definite impact from whatever the guys in robes were doing. That strange shield thing they had up would collapse any minute and then what would the NID do? Would they just storm the building? Or would they be more careful, considering it was technically a hostage situation? Jack wanted to think they'd be careful, but knowing how the NID always tended to mess things up…

"Sir? Are you all right?"

Jack glanced over to see Carter eyeing him nervously. He glanced down and noticed the twig he had been playing with had been reduced to splinters. Quickly, Jack dusted of his hands, and plastered an easy smile on his face. "Fine, Captain."

Carter nodded and went back to watching the NID, her expression unsure. Jack waited until he was sure she wasn't looking and let the poor excuse for a smile he had managed to summon drop from his face. Grabbing his own binoculars, he took a closer look at the bottom floor of the house. Was that movement?

Buffy jumped back down from the window with a smile for her team. "Right, two more minutes and it'll be dark enough for Spike to go out."

Giles nodded, checking the bolts strapped to his leg were secure. "Are we ready to cause a distraction then?"

Buffy let out a grin. "Yep."

Taking hold of the piece of string threaded through the house, she tugged on it sharply. As soon as she got an answering tug, she nodded to her companions and kicked open the door. Strolling out, knowing the rest of the Scoobies would be right behind her.

Glory paused at the top of the hill, her eyes narrowing as she noted the familiar forms of the Knights scattered around the clearing. Those interfering scum were here to try to take her Key! She had had enough of them and she made a promise to herself that she would not let any of them walk away from this alive. Not after the role they had played in keeping the Key from her before.

"Gripper, Slaughter. When I give the signal, I want you to take your demons and destroy the Knights. I don't want a single one of them to leave this valley alive. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Most Glorious One." The trained reply came back - in perfect harmony.

Glory let out a pleased smile and turned to the rest of her captains. "The rest of you, I want my Key alive. The rest can die. But my Key is not to be harmed. Understood?"

The outbreaks of assurances came and Glory stretched, liking the feeling of her muscles pulling along her back. With a last glance at the sky to remind her exactly why she hadn't brought any of her vampires along, she started down the slope, straight towards SG10. She wasn't going to let anything stand in her way.

Colonel Maybourne blinked as he noticed the young blonde woman that had come stalking out the house. She was equipped with similar weapons to what the Knights had, as were her companions who were staying back and covering her. He let out a small smile to himself as he strode over to where she was waiting. Maybe there would be no need to break in after all. Capturing the group would be a big bonus; after all from the reports he had heard about the blonde, she had beaten Teal'c… something that automatically made her worth further study.

"Stop right there, Colonel."

Maybourne stopped at the blonde's words, smirking at her. "Ready to surrender?"

The blonde smirked back at him. "Surrender? We're just here to tell you to get lost," she said, as she raised her crossbow, pointing it straight at his head. "'cause, you know, it's not nice to hang around other people's houses."

Maybourne raised an eyebrow, glancing at the crossbow aimed his way. "Nice try, but I already know that you can't send anything through the shield, just as we can't send anything in, and the moment you drop it… My men will be in there."

The blonde tilted her head to the side, as if listening to something, and then smiled. "Really?"

It was just then that all hell broke loose. The barrier shimmered and then vanished, the NID immediately opening fire on the Knights. Captain Fulham, his eyes on the bastard who had been so 'holier than thou', watched in satisfaction as the guys face was ripped apart by his bullets. After having put up with the guys crap for so long, he felt that it was therapeutic to finally get even. Then, when the guy was nothing more than a twitching mass on the floor, he turned his attention to his men.

It looked as if they were having as much fun as him. The Knights had had no idea what had hit them. They had all been watching either the house or the perimeter, trusting the NID men at their backs. That had been a mistake. When the NID had moved in, the leather on their arms and legs didn't do a thing to stop the bullets and neither did the chain mail. Now, all the Captain could hear was the cries of shock and pain from the knights as they were almost shredded. It was music to his ears.

Jack cursed as the gun fight broke out down below. Straightening slightly, he grabbed his radio as he motioned for Carter and Teal'c to follow him down the hill.

"Move in. Locate Doctor Jackson and Dawn O'Neill and, if possible, get them out of there."

He got the expected answering replies and relaxed fractionally, even as he and his team headed towards where Maybourne and his daughter were chatting away as if a firefight had not just broken out around them. Jack wasn't sure whether to be amused by his daughter's cool, or upset at the way she was so casual about the people around her dying. She was, after all, barely older than the newest recruits at the SGC and even having gone through all the Air force's training, they weren't as comfortable about being surrounded by death.

Reaching the edge of the fight, he ducked as an NID soldier spotted him and fired off a couple of rounds. Coming up, his gun was ready before he noticed that a Knight had taken out the guy and was heading towards him, swinging a mace around his head. Glaring at the man, Jack fired, his face blank as the guy feel back dead. The only thing that mattered now was getting his daughters and Daniel out of this hell hole before the winners decided that they had better things to do than play siege - particularly now that the shield thing was down...

SG10 were moving out after receiving the Colonel's orders when they suddenly found themselves under attack from a hoard of aliens. The few shots of the zat they managed to get off before they were overwhelmed did nothing more than slow the monsters down, and then they were being torn into. Claws and long serrated teeth tore into torsos; heads were ripped off and flung to the side, only to get trampled on later. Mercifully for the late SG10 team, it was quick. The demons were far more interested in the smell of blood and pain from further down the hill. Unluckily for everyone else, they didn't have time to scream and so there was little to no warning when the demons came pouring out around the house like a small sea.

"What the fuck?!"

Captain Fulham just managed to scream the expletive before a demon slammed into him, his bullets doing no more than leaving a faint red mark on its forehead. Within seconds, the NID men were overwhelmed, a large number giving of screams as demons tore into them. As for the Knights themselves… they were doing better than their rivals, managing to get into small groups and hold the demons off for a short time. Of course, they were soon torn apart and their bodies left with chunks missing on the ground, but at least they were able to fight back.

Willow had been on the other end of the string Buffy had tugged on. She and Spike were waiting just inside an alcove that hid the caves' entrance. Both of them were waiting for the signal that Buffy and the other Scoobies were making their move. When they got it, they would pause for thirty before dropping the shields and bolting. Hopefully, in the confusion they would make it into the woods. Then they could get to the breach and escape.

Of course, they weren't planning to just walk out into the dusk and hope that no one saw them. Willow and Giles had done their best to create three sets of 'invisibility cloaks' as Xander had called them. In reality, they were three king-sized bed sheets covered in all the notice-me-not charms, invisibility spells, and camouflage charms the group could find in the small library they had tempted Doctor Jackson with. It had been effective, to some extent, and the only way someone could see them now was by searching for minute signs of distortion in the air.

Even Buffy, squinting in an inner court yard flooded with sunshine couldn't spot Anya when the group had tested them… or her shadow. Instead, she had identified her by sound and the inconsistencies in the air around the hidden person. Still, it was more than enough of a disguise for a small team to slip through the perimeter if there was a big enough distraction and it was dusk. Even Buffy would have trouble seeing what looked like a heat wave in twilight, so the group was fairly certain that if Spike carried Dawn and Willow traveled with them to deflect any stray bullets or curious soldier, they would be safe enough wrapped tightly in the blankets.

So that was why the pair was sitting waiting in the alcove, a sleeping teenager cradled in the vampire's arms, and a nervous witch running over all the spells that might help them if they ran into trouble, and waiting for the stupid string to jerk.

Then it jerked.

Willow counted aloud to thirty with Spike, before casting the counter spell to the wards. They dropped immediately and Willow suddenly felt extremely exposed, used to the comforting feeling of white protective magic surrounding her. Taking a deep breathe, she stood and opened the door, slipping through a pair of half open patio doors left for the purpose. It wouldn't do for any guards to see a door open on its own.

"All clear?"

Willow jumped slightly at the sound of Spike's voice. Taking a deep breathe she nodded, before remembering that he couldn't see her and whispered an answer, confident that he would hear her. Turning she found that while they had been so careful about making sure nothing could be seen… they had forgotten to guard against being felt. She could tell where Spike and Dawn were from the feeling of magic pouring off the sheets.

"Um, Spike, we better hope we don't run into any magic users."

He turned towards her voice, and Willow followed his progress as he walked towards the door. "I can feel the magic we did, and I'm sure another witch or wizard would be able to as well."

Spike snorted. "Better be quick, then. Don't want any trouble."

Of course, that was the moment that trouble hit them. The sound of screams of pain and gun shots filled the air outside and Willow felt sick as she watched the group surrounding them begin to tear each other apart. She felt something bump into her and dodged out the way, remembering Spike heading towards the safety of the trees. He paused and turned, remaining still as he waited for her to speak and reveal her presence. She felt a blush spreading across her cheeks.

"Sorry, just… how can they kill each other like that?"

Spike's snort was answer enough. "Demons don't have a monopoly on evil, you know. Human's have it too."

He straightened and headed off, Willow behind him. If they didn't get hit in this mess they would be very lucky.

It had taken them five minutes to get through the fighting mob, and Spike had taken two stray bullets in that time. One would have hit Dawn if he hadn't spotted it and the other caught him in the shoulder when he turned to check on Willow. Then the demons came. They'd torn through the trees, and Willow had been so sure they would be caught but they'd ignored them. Maybe none of the species she saw were magically inclined? It would explain it…

"Willow? Willow!"

She glanced up at Spike's urgent whisper to see Glory smirking at them, her arms crossed. "Aw, how nice of you to bring me my Key. I was so worried that it might have gotten hurt in the battle." The hell goddess allowed a smile to spread across her face. "For that I won't kill you. This time…"


	17. Chapter 17

****

Chapter 17

Willow took a deep breath, stepping out from behind Spike, and summoning enough magic to make her hair and eyes turn pure black. There weren't even the faint traces of red left in it, like when she had used dark magic before. Glaring at the Goddess, she slammed her hand forward, causing Glory to fly backwards into a tree.

"No way in hell!"

Glory straightened up and glared. "You think you have a choice, little witch? I am a Goddess…"

Then, suddenly, she was in front of Willow swinging an arm against the witches head and slamming her into a tree. Willow felt woozy and the darkness began to drain out of her hair before she could pull herself back together. When she did manage to gain control again, it was to find that Spike had disappeared and Glory was turning around, frowning slightly.

"Here, little vampire, where are you taking my Key?"

Willow blinked, standing up slowly. Pulling the magic back to herself, she threw out a spell she had found that was designed to wrap its target up in an unbreakable net so that they couldn't move. It didn't work out as planned. The Goddess simply moved her arms apart and ripped it to shreds. Then she turned back to Willow. Moving back over, she punched her in the chest so hard that Willow was sure she felt her ribs crack. Then, as the pain built up and she found herself crashing to the ground, she caught a glimpse of Glory turning and blurring after Spike. Knowing they had lost, she reached out with her mind for Buffy.

_'I'm sorry… Glory found us.'_

Spike had turned and run the moment that Red had begun her spell to slow the bitch. He'd almost made it to the breach when he found himself slamming into a female form. Stumbling backwards, clutching Dawn to his chest, he shook his head dazedly. Then a second punch hit him, knocking him down. He couldn't help but let out a hiss of pain at that, but he managed to struggle to his feet again.

"You."

Glory smirked at him, reaching out and snatching up Dawn's arm. Spike tried to stumble backwards, but the Goddess was too fast. She yanked Dawn's sleeping body from his grasp and threw the girl over her shoulder. She was gone long before Spike could gather the balance needed even to stand properly, let alone try to stop her.

Instead, he sighed and headed towards the breach. The girl needed to be recovered and, after the stunt the others had pulled, he doubted they would be in any shape to help. And as for Red… well, she would try to help the others so they would be fine. But it did mean that he was on his own in tracking where Dawn had gone. Then a thought struck him and he chuckled. His 'big bad' image was well away down the drain now. Cause what big bad seriously thought about _rescuing_ a young girl from a hell goddess? Stealing her to be used, maybe… but rescuing her? He had been spending far too much time around the Scoobies.

Jack frowned as he shot another alien eight times before it finally turned into a pile of ooze. What ever protection these things had, natural or otherwise, made them nearly immune to zat blasts and it was certainly impressive. If there were any things left behind stunned or dead (and in one piece) he would have no problem letting the scientists at Area 51 take a peek at them. It would be good to have protection like that in the field and seeing how eagerly these things tore into the humans trying to defend themselves helped eliminate any sympathy he had.

Now, all he had to do was get over to where his daughter was fighting those eight foot tall bear shaped things – well, bears with scales. She looked like she was doing fine, but Jack didn't want her to get killed before he could sit her down and have a word with her. He had a lot to talk about, like why they had kidnapped Dawn, why they didn't ask for help and what she had been doing with her life. The pair would have more than a few issues to work through and the sooner they started the quicker they could get all this sorted out.

Glancing at the fighting groups around him, he spotted a semi-clear path and ducked through it, trusting Teal'c to cover his back. He hoped Buffy didn't try to knock him out or anything when he made it over there. That could be fatal in a fight like this…

Maybourne scowled at the smirking blonde in front of her. She had dropped the barrier like he had wanted, but instead of taking them out, his men were now all involved in a fight for their lives against a huge collection of aliens. He had no idea how she had got them all to Earth, but none of them seemed to want to fight her. They all steered clear, leaving her and her companions alone.

"OK, how did you do it?"

"Do what?" the annoying young woman asked casually, as if a large portion of his men were not being ripped apart around them.

"This! Get them all here!"

She snorted. "That wasn't me, although…" She stopped staring behind him, her face slightly tense. Maybourne fought the urge to turn around. That was the oldest trick in the book. Children learned it in pre-school!

Suddenly, a wooden crossbow bolt shot by his ear, and he heard it impacting into something behind him. He jumped forward, gaping at the snarling creature on the ground behind him, its arm outstretched. Claws dripping some vile green liquid, it slowly melted into a pool of slime and Maybourne glanced over to see the young dark haired man smirking at him and readying his bow for another shot.

Suddenly the warning he'd received when he'd dug into Buffy Summers' personal files made a lot more sense. He and his superiors were in over their heads. These 'children' with their outdated weaponry and amateur methods of covering their tracks were not merely children. He took a deep breath, then another, before signaling his men to withdraw. From this point on, or at least until they got away from this valley, it was every man for himself… and he was not going to die like this.

Gripper let out a howl of triumph as the humans fell to his demons. The Knights had almost all been wiped out by his hoards, and it had been fairly easy. Now, only isolated groups scattered here and there were left. They were defending themselves well using their swords and bows, those weapons hurt, but their speed and ferocity was no match for a selection of species that had spent millennia fighting each other for food. They fell quickly and as they fell his minions would howl their triumph to the others.

And as for the other men who were gathering around… well, their little guns hurt a tiny bit, but they were no where near as powerful as some of the lightening strikes witches used. When you could withstand that, bullets and the little balls of light that some of them were putting out hardly hurt at all. So, as long as you dodged before they got you too many times, it was easy enough to avoid dying. Besides, the humans who had been helping the Knights were stupid. Imagine thinking that guns could take down his people?

He turned to search for another warrior, leaving the soldier he had been playing with dead. When he spotted one, he let out a grin, showing teeth stained in blood. It was an older man with darkish hair, trying to slip between the groups. He was trialed by a tall black-skinned fellow who seemed to be watching his back. He'd have to take that one out first, and then move on to the dark haired one…

Gathering his strength, he pounced on the tall figure, clawed hands sweeping out to disembowel the mortal. Only, the mortal wasn't there anymore. Gripper let out a snarl of frustration that quickly turned to one of pain as his neck was blown open by what felt like a stream of fire. Meanwhile, Teal'c ignored the alien in its death throws and turned to look for O'Neill. The man was separated from him now, but all Teal'c could do about it was get back to him. So it was that, as he was focusing on getting back over to his friend, he missed the hunched over form of Maybourne slipping like a shadow towards the trees.

Buffy dodged a swipe from the freakishly tall demon on her left and then ducked as his partner lashed out with an arm that looked as thick as the trees she remembered from high school before the place got blown up. It looked like it would have packed quite a punch, and Buffy scowled up at the demon who had just tried to hit her. It snarled back, but Buffy caught the glimpse of fear in its eye and lunged, stabbing her knife in between two large scales on its stomach. It collapsed, causing its partner to let out an angry screech and lunge for her.

She didn't quite dodge back in time, and the claw managed to catch the top of her left arm, ripping through her sweater and leaving a jagged gash in her skin. Buffy winced and threw her knife, relying on her instincts to aim it. When she heard the sound of the demon falling, she quickly ripped the sleeve off her sweater and wrapped it around her arm. The gash was deep and would probably have incapacitated a normal human, but for a slayer it did no more than slow her down slightly. With a tug on the hastily tied knot, she grabbed her knife from the demons throat and turned to the next group of attackers…only to come face to face with her father.

Buffy rolled her eyes at the angry expression on his face and knocked him flat as a demon nearby exploded sending white bone spikes everywhere. Then she gave a hand down to pull him up. He let her pull him up, gave her a look that said very clearly 'we'll be talking later', and moved to cover her back as she headed towards a group of soldiers that were trying to take on a Fraspik demon. Killing that particular demon required that its head be severed from its neck by cold iron and, despite the effort the soldiers were making, bullets were neither plain iron nor cold when fired. That had the cause of the head growing back while the arms flailed around it. Buffy solved the problem by somersaulting over and separating its half grown head with her sword.

She dodged back out in the confusion of the demon collapsing and managed to get clear before they recognized her and shot her for causing this trouble. It wasn't her fault, but knowing what the slimy git who wanted her to surrender said, she wasn't going to take chances. Not to mention that with the military so heavily involved now there was little to no chance that she would be able to sneak away. That meant playing nice so that they didn't treat her too badly when they finally got her locked up.

With a glance at her father, she let out a mental sigh and handed him her sword, pulling her spare out of its hidden sheath. He gave her a nod and they were off again. She didn't even bother to try to slip away from him. These were demons, not stupid vampires being used to send a message, and they were a lot smarter, more vicious and likely to kill lots of people before they broke and fled. She wasn't going to let her father be one of those people who became a statistic. He deserved better than that.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

The battle had been going for hours. Jack had done his best to stick with his daughter, taking out the few aliens that moved towards her menacingly, but she had been fast and agile and she never seemed to tire. It was as if she was one of those Duracell bunnies on TV, capable of going twenty four hours in all sorts of high energy sports while the competition fell behind. Of course, he'd noticed early on that she was keeping an eye out for him. Twice she'd taken out things that had been looking to make him a snack without him spotting them until after they had knocked him down… but now she'd slipped away.

He would have been happy to admit that there was little danger left, if he hadn't already seen that she seemed drawn to wherever the most dangerous creatures were. He would have even been happy to say she could take care of herself, if not for that wound on her arm. It had been bleeding steadily and he was wondering how she could be so energetic having lost that much blood…

The biggest reason he was unhappy with her disappearance, however, was the way she had stopped at one point, frowned, tilted her head slightly as if listening, and then carried on fighting with a ferocity he hadn't seen matched in... ever. It seemed that, whereas before she had just killed the aliens quickly and efficiently before moving on, this time she hurt them and left them to die a slow death. It was as if she'd heard some bad news and was taking it out on them. It made her careless, and he didn't like the change.

"O'Neill."

Jack turned to see his Jaffa friend coming towards him and gave him a nod. "Teal'c."

"I am pleased to see that you are alive, O'Neill. It was a fierce battle." The Jaffa took in a deep scratch on Jack's leg and the way that his arm was held slightly towards his body. "You do not require the services of a doctor?"

Jack wrinkled his nose. "Just the odd scratch here and there, nothing they need to worry about right away. My daughter took anything out before it could do any real damage." Jack couldn't hide the wry smile that came with that statement. It seemed Buffy was more than capable of defending herself.

Teal'c gave him a small smile, little more than twitch of his lips. "You are pleased she shows such regard for your safety."

Jack let out a short laugh. "Well yeah, means I have a chance to get to know her and find out what the hell she was thinking kidnapping Dawn. Makes it easier to find out what's going on if the person you're talking to likes you." He paused and turned to look around. "Now I just have to find her again…"

Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "Buffy Summers is with her friends. They are cleaning up the last large grouping of the aliens. I believe they are around the other side of the house."

Jack clapped his hands and smiled at his friend. "Well, let's go see what we can do to help…"

Xander was amused at the twitchy way the soldiers were watching him and the others. Really, they were happily leaning against the side of the mansion, watching as Buffy took care of a particularly stubborn Skrisnak demon and having a nice drink of lemonade from their supplies. They weren't threatening the soldiers. They weren't yelling insults or doing anything else provocative. In fact, they weren't doing anything at all… except drinking lemonade and lounging against a wall.

"You know, Jen, this was one of your better ideas," Giles commented, taking another mouthful of his drink. "But why did you bring lemonade to a battle of all things?"

Anya turned to him with a bright smile. "Well, we had lots left over and there was no point wasting it. Besides," she added turning to watch Buffy as she gave the demon a rather nasty kick to the private parts at a particularly vulgar comment, "we needed something to drink while we watched the show."

Xander nodded enthusiastically, letting himself slip down onto the cool grass. It was shady there, out of the spot lights that the… was it the NID or the SGC people?... had set up. "I wonder if Daniel's woken up yet?"

Daniel was waking up just then. His head felt all fuzzy and he was finding it hard to think straight. He dimly remembered an alley… and a mobile phone in his hand… but why was he there? He had been following two people… but why?

Dawn!

Dawn had been kidnapped and he had been following two of the kidnappers, but then he had been caught and knocked out and… that was it. He couldn't remember anything after that point in time no matter how hard he tried. There was a reason for it, he dimly recalled the two people arguing about something… something to do with a risk using their kind of transport…

Had whatever they'd done to him damaged his memory? He didn't usually have this much trouble remembering things. What if he couldn't remember stuff properly anymore? Would that mean he couldn't work at the SGC?

For a moment, Daniel sat there praying for his head to clear and for his memory to settle down again. As he did so, he took deep breaths, holding and releasing them as you were meant to do in mediation. It had been a long time since he'd tried that but, as it had when it was small, it helped him calm down. Of course, as he calmed, his memory came back. He could remember everything up until the point where they'd knocked him out. It was OK, he was fine.

Standing, he brushed the various bits of dirt and leaf that had got stuck to his clothes off and moved to take a closer look at the cave. It seemed to be sealed with some sort of force field and he wondered if it was his captors' version of a prison cell. It wouldn't be the first time, and unlike the stupid doors the Goa'uld always used, this one didn't seem to have a panel you could short circuit. So how was it controlled?

Reaching out, he was about to touch the shimmering blue wall, before remembering Jack's no touch rule. Jack had been right more than once and now Daniel came to think about it, a lot of their troubles had come from him or Sam touching things when they shouldn't have. So instead, he used a small piece of plant he had found in his pocket to push against it. It went through easily. Now why was that?

Frowning, and not quite sure if he wanted to risk putting his hand through the thing yet, he took a good look around. His eyes stopped on a scrap of note paper stuck to the wall. Grabbing it, he squinted in the dim light to read the hastily scribbled words.

_Daniel,_

If you have found this note you are no doubt awake and looking around your room. The shield is a one way door that will keep things out, but it won't keep you in. We should be gone by the time you wake up, either because your friends have captured us or we escaped them. Either way, they'll be searching this place and they'll be close to finding you. We recommend you wait until they come. You're safe in here from anything that might try to track us, and we'd appreciate it for our own peace of mind.

Dawn's Kidnappers

Shaking his head, Daniel decided that maybe it would be best to wait. He didn't know what 'things' they had hinted at, but if he really was safe in here from any Goa'uld, then maybe it was best to wait. After all, if his team didn't turn up, he could just walk out. There apparently wasn't anything keeping him here after all…

Giles knew something was up. Buffy was being much more vicious than usual with the remaining demon and when it finally fell, she took time to clean her sword. Not that she rarely did it normally, she didn't like the idea of demon blood getting anywhere near her clothes more than necessary, but she was being rather vigorous in her movements. It all spoke of anger at what was happening. He wondered what had gone wrong…

It was as if she'd read his mind. She looked up and as their eyes met, he saw anger in her eyes that hadn't been there earlier. It was a look that combined being helpless and the bitterness of failure. There was only one reason she would look at him like that, and that was that their plan had failed. Willow and Spike hadn't been able to get Dawn to safety. Who had got them, though?

She read that question in him as well, she knew him so well, and as she came over, she muttered almost too softly to be heard, "It was Glory."

Giles sighed, letting himself lean against the wall, his eyes closed. So it was over. They had failed; because there was no way that they would be able to persuade the soldiers to let them go. It was over. Letting out a breath, he allowed the bitterness of defeat to wash over him, before he felt a small hand on his arm and looked to see Buffy looking at him, her face set.

"Don't give up yet, Giles. Stick to the plan."

Giles took a breath and let out a small smile. He would trust his slayer. He would follow the precautions that they had gone over for if… no, when… they were captured. He would trust Buffy to get them out of this. Then a thought occurred to him and he couldn't help letting out a low chuckle. He wondered if the Air Force were trained to be immune to Buffy's pout? It probably wouldn't help much but it would certainly make whoever questioned her uncomfortable. A pity that Xander was so sure they would be questioned separately, he'd have liked to watch.

Captain Carter caught the grim look that passed over Rupert Giles' face and wondered what had happened. There was worry, and then after the short exchange between him and Jack's daughter, defeat. She wondered what that had been about and watched him carefully. It was because of that she caught the faint look of amusement and affection he cast at Buffy. She wasn't sure what that was about, but noticing the answering smirks on the faces of his younger companions who caught the look, she had a feeling that when they finally started questioning them things would be interesting.

"Carter."

"Sir."

Jack walked up so he was standing next to her, eyeing the group with mixed feelings. Sam could sympathize, it wasn't every day that you found out you had a daughter and that she was part of a group that basically amounted to vigilantes.

"Anyone said they've found Daniel or Dawn yet?"

Sam shook her head. She knew that he was listening to his radio and that someone would call in as soon as there was news, but he was asking anyway. "No sir, but SG3 have entered the building."

Jack nodded, visibly stealing himself for the coming talk with his daughter. "Well, shall we go to see what Buffy and her friends have to say?"

Back in Sunnydale, Spike stumbled off the ghost roads, his eyes streaming. He hated that place, but at least he wasn't defenseless. It was rare that you would find another human there, or even another demon. Still, it was crowded enough with all the remains of his previous victims. Now, as he straightened up, he took a deep breath and wiped away the blood from his eyes where the light had hurt them. He would find Dawn, and he would see what he could do about getting her away from the Hell Goddess. If he was lucky, she wouldn't be dead by the time he got there...


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N:** Let me just apologise for not updating for so long. My only excuse is that my teachers are not happy with me. Apparently I should be working at a level higher than what I currently am so I forsee a lot of hard work in my future, not to mention my year group is starting to get into the whole UCAS mania. Anyone applying for a university place in the UK can attest how complicated that is. I'm just glad that they're currently focusing on what courses we want to take. I am not looking forward to when it comes to filling in all these forms...

Here's the next batch of updates.

Enjoy.

**

* * *

****Chapter 19**

Jack watched as the group turned towards him as he headed forward. He was amused to see that, apart from his daughter, they all appeared to be holding in sniggers. He raised an eyebrow and the young man who was called 'Xander' let out a snort before his face went blank leaving only his eyes sparkling with laughter. Turning to his daughter, who was clearly the ring leader, he stared at her, not sure what he should say. Buffy fixed it for him by going first.

"You know this would have been much easier if the bunch of you hadn't stuck your nose in our business."

"Our nose in your business? You're the ones who kidnapped Dawn!"

She glared at him. "And if we hadn't? We barely got there before they did, as you well know!"

Jack blinked. "Where did you get that idea?"

'Xander' rolled his eyes. "Please, the fact that Daniel knew who we were was a big give away. Have you found him yet?"

Jack turned his glare to the young man. "No, but it's only a matter of time."

Buffy snorted. "I'd recommend getting your solider boys to call for him. There shouldn't be anything else down there, but we advised him not to leave his room until he saw you guys. Can't be too careful, can we?"

Jack turned to her. "No, you can't."

He turned away, heading back towards Sam and Teal'c. As soon as he was out of the way, the sound of a series of zat blasts rang out. A few minutes later the Scoobies were all trussed up and ready for transport. Jack chewed his lip thoughtfully as he watched them being carried off towards the pickup point.

"Carter, wasn't there another two of them? The possible Goa'uld Spike and that Willow kid?"

Carter blinked, before turning back to the group. "Yes sir, I'll ask people to keep an eye out for them."

"And I will check the surrounding land for any sign of their possible escape, O'Neill."

Jack nodded, "Thanks Teal'c." He sighed and headed away from the group slightly as he called up the helicopter.

Sam watched him go thoughtfully. "Teal'c, do you get the feeling that the kids have all this planned out? I mean they didn't seem worried about being caught, and there are two of them missing along with Dawn."

"Indeed, Captain Carter. BuffySummers and her allies have proved very resourceful. I would not be surprised if they have taken precautions in case it is necessary to submit to capture."

"Yep, that's what I'm afraid off."

-

True to his word, Teal'c examined the surrounding area carefully, but it wasn't until he was three-quarters of the way around before he found signs of the two missing group member's escape. But even then, he almost missed it. The tracks were nearly hidden by the signs of the aliens' and if Teal'c hadn't caught sight of an area that was clear of all tracks, he would have gone right past it. As it was, he heard a groan and headed further up the hill.

It was then he found one of the missing members, a red head called Willow. She looked in a bad way, with blood dripping slowly from her nose and a possible broken back from where she had apparently been thrown into a tree. Not taking chances, he shot her with his zat from where he was waiting. She jerked before falling silent. Taking out a small length of plastic ties from his pocket, he approached and checked her for injuries. Finding none apart from the obvious, he radioed in before turning to try to find what happened to her companion. It seemed as if Captain Carter's theory was correct. They **had** taken precautions.

-

Daniel managed to pull himself upright as he heard people calling his name. He was pretty sure they were from the SGC, or at least the NID. Somehow he doubted that his captors would call out 'Doctor Jackson' not when they had put Daniel on their note. Still, with what they had mentioned about enemies... maybe he should be cautious. Checking to make sure he hadn't stepped through their 'barrier', he leaned forwards to call out.

"I'm here!"

Within a few minutes, the first of the soldiers came around the corner wearing the SG patch. As the man drew closer he recognized Colonel Makepeace of SG3. "Doctor Jackson. Are you alright?"

Daniel nodded, "Yes." He hesitated before stepping through the barrier. "The note they left mentioned something about being tracked. Was that the SGC?"

The Colonel shook his head. "Not just us. The NID and some other guys got here first, not to mention the pitched battle outside with all sorts of alien monsters."

Daniel stopped. "Alien monsters?"

"I'll leave it to the rest of SG1 to finish debriefing you, but let's just say that we're not the only ones interested in Dawn and there have been a lot of new developments."

-

Five hours later, everyone was back at the SGC and gathered in the briefing room making sure they were all on the same page as far as their guests were concerned. They had been going over what they knew for hours and they were still getting nowhere. The information they had managed to get out of the NID wasn't really that useful. All it told them was that the Key was apparently an extremely destructive force that the NID wanted to use and the Knights wanted to destroy. The snide response of 'magic' when questioned on the technology that they had been seen using was enough to make everybody sure that the NID were as much in the dark as they were. Daniel would have said they were just being spiteful, but seeing as they were in enough trouble, no one really thought they would make it worse by denying the government information.

"Doctor Fraiser, what about Ms Summers. Have you found anything to explain how she defeated Teal'c so easily?"

Janet sighed. "No sir. Apart from slightly higher muscle mass than what you would expect in a young woman of her build and healing abilities slightly better than those of a host with an active Goa'uld symbiote, there is nothing to indicate she is anything other than the young woman she appears to be. Well, that and the scars."

Jack raised an eyebrow as he adopted a slightly sarcastic expression. "Scars?"

Janet shot him a look. "Colonel O'Neill pointed out to me the high number of scars on her arms when she was given into my care. They apparently cover the majority of her body and vary between the appearances of being four months to eight years old. However, given her healing abilities I can't say for certain when she got them. I also ran a CAT scan and checked for a protein marker like that which Jolinar left behind, as well as any naquada in her blood, but drew a blank. Wherever she gets her healing from, it isn't a symbiote or anything else we can detect."

General Hammond nodded. "And what of the issue with her being Colonel O'Neill's daughter? Is that confirmed?"

"Yes, sir. One of the first things I did was check and I can say with certainty that Ms Summers is the Colonel's daughter."

"What about you, Doctor Jackson? I assume Captain Carter has brought you up to speed on what we've found?"

"Ah, yes. I just wanted to add that while I haven't found anything on the Key, I did find references to a mythical Slayer – or the Vampire Slayer. Legend says that the Slayer was a young girl gifted with the power to fight the darkness and charged with the sacred destiny of guarding mankind from various demons. There doesn't seem to be a beginning to the legend, and I've found traces of it back to Ancient Egyptian times where a Slayer of the name Tasmet led an army of mages to banish a group of snake demons. Most of the academic community believes it to be the equivalent of an ancient Egyptian fairy tale but considering what we've found through the Stargate, you get a different picture."

"You think the Slayer led the resistance that successfully fought off the Goa'uld?" Teal'c questioned, "And that Buffy Summers as her apparent heir would have some knowledge of this event?"

"Yes, or at least the people she works for. Sam mentioned her claim to serve these 'Powers'... they would probably have records that go back that far."

Jack sniffed. "We can go through the whole history spiel later. For now, can we look more at what's been done to Buffy and where Dawn is? You know, things in the here and now?"

-

The first thing that Buffy sensed when coming back to consciousness was the antiseptic smells that are prevalent in hospitals everywhere. The bad memories it brought back and the familiar surge of fear was almost enough to make her puke and dimly Buffy heard the slight blip of the heart beat monitors increasing in the background. Keeping her eyes closed, she forced herself to use the breathing techniques Giles was always after her to use and was pleased when her heart beat settled back down to the familiar rhythm it had been before.

Privately, Buffy wondered if they were aware that she was awake yet, or if they had just assumed that she would be out for longer. She could only sense one other person and he (or she) was just outside the room. At a guess, Buffy would have had to have said he was a guard, the way he or she wasn't moving and sense of alertness suggested that. As for a doctor or nurse... Buffy wasn't sure. She couldn't sense anyone, either here in the room with her or the little space that was upwards and to her left. But without opening her eyes, or doing anything else to show she was awake, she wouldn't know for sure – particularly if she was in an observation room. Although... there was one way to get a response... it would have the bonus of reminding them who held all the information around here… and maybe Giles would be pleased with her for getting some practice in…

-

Daniel shot Jack a reproachful look and Jack rolled his eyes. "Well, all I could find out about the Slayer was that she gets greater strength, speed, senses and is an expert at fighting with sources saying that almost immediately after picking up a weapon she can use it like an expert. The source of her abilities though, that was harder to find."

"But you did find something?" General Hammond prompted.

Daniel took a deep breath, knowing that no one would like what he was about to say. "Eventually, I found one very old account that claimed to be translating from an even older spoken one. The nearest translation I can get goes like this:

'The men took the girl and chained her to the earth. She was offered in trade to the Gods in return for a Warrior against the darkness. The Gods answered and the girl was filled with the essence of her prey. But though the demon's evil came with strength and power it also came with madness. The girl broke free with a surge of rage and began her task. No servant of evil could stand before her and she hunted the demons as the demons had hunted man. So was born the Shadow Child, the Slayer of the Dark Ones.'"

The room feel silent as they mulled that over; Daniel waited for that to be absorbed before revealing the rest.

"It goes on about how she hunted the demons until the demons banded together to take her down. She died, and then according to the records, the men who had arranged for her creation in the first place ensured the darkness in her was passed to another young woman. The writer goes on to talk about a long line of young women, about the age of fifteen or sixteen and known by a variety of titles, having the essence of the Slayer forced into their bodies and taken on the destiny of fighting the darkness. Apparently it was normally considered a blessing."

Jack stared at him. "They thought it was a blessing to have a demon shoved into their daughter?!"

Daniel shrugged. "I suspect that it was more to do with their daughter being chosen by the Gods as a defender of mankind rather than the whole demon issue."

General Hammond nodded. "And you found no indication of this 'demon' in Miss Summers, Doctor Fraiser?"

The Doctor was just shaking her head when her pager went off, flipping it open, she glanced at the others in the briefing room, her face tight. "Miss Summers seems to have had an adverse reaction to one of the sedatives we gave her. Her pulse has dropped dangerously low and she's unresponsive."

-

Giles sat in his cell, his faint connection to the magic telling him that he was currently a good way underground. Focusing on it was the only thing that was keeping his mind from going through all the possible things that could be going wrong with this plan. They might keep his Slayer drugged and unconscious; the search they were no doubt running on them all might not raise any flags with the government; they might be sent straight off to some sort of military prison... So many things that could happen and they still hadn't tried to question him. It was really getting annoying and he had to use all the long lessons in patience he had accumulated to help prevent him letting Ripper out for a little fun.

It was just then that he caught the sound of an alarm in the distance.

Sitting back, he smiled. So Buffy was up and causing trouble. That was good to know.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

In the isolation room Buffy had been placed in, the group gathered around the bay window to get a good view of the bed. The figure looked terribly small and weak in the middle of the large bed, strapped down and helpless, and Jack found himself swallowing. It was hard to believe that this young woman, barely twenty years old according to her birth certificate, could be some mythical warrior carrying the essence of a demon in her. It wasn't helped by the flashing alarms on the various monitors.

"What's going on?" General Hammond demanded, his eyes taking in the controlled chaos below.

"Her heart rate dropped dangerously low." One of the nearby nurses answered as she hurried by. "We've responded with a 1 mg dose of Atrophine, but there's been no response. We don't know the cause and so we don't know what else to try."

SG1 stared after her as she headed out of the room, a vial of clear liquid in one hand. Jack felt his own heart rate increasing as he watched the still, motionless form of his daughter lying on her bed. He couldn't take this. He couldn't watch another child of his die. Reaching out, he placed a clenched fist on the window, visibly restraining himself from rushing down the stairs and doing... something.

-

Buffy felt the sudden rush of activity through the field of calm that isolated her mind from her body. Somewhere in the haze below her she felt the slayer stir; determinedly, she pushed it back. She was making a point to these people... They had to treat her people carefully. They put her in the infirmary, they tried to drug her, they had stunned her friends and they had interfered with her job... but most of all they didn't know what the hell they were dealing with. They had to learn that little fact… maybe then they would let the professionals deal with it.

Feeling the pull of the drugs, she waited for her body to metabolize them and the worried voices to increase in volume. Only when she felt the loss of hope in them, did she allow her mind to drift out of the meditation haze and her heart rate to go back to normal. Slowly, she opened her eyes to see the worried faces of the doctor and nurses surrounding her and felt a surge of guilt. Ruthlessly, she pushed it down and fixed an emotionless look in her eyes before anyone could notice. It would spoil it if they thought she had done it on purpose.

Then her eyes went instinctively to the most powerful person in the room, a short woman with curly hair and a doctor's coat. At a guess, Buffy would have said that she was in charge of the medical people. The doctor had stepped back and was watching her with narrowed eyes. Buffy glared at her, forcing herself not to let the small smile sneak up onto her lips. The Doctor's eyes turned thoughtful before she turned left the room.

Buffy turned her stare up to the observation window, her eyes hard as she gazed up at the people watching. They didn't need to know that the straps they were using were too weak to hold her. Buffy knew that anything short of metal manacles wasn't enough and there was no way medical restraints made of leather were enough. Then she saw the Jaffa.

She wasn't sure how, she wasn't sure where she had slipped up, but he knew. He knew what she had done, and Buffy was pretty sure that he knew why she had done it. But the ball was in his court now. Would he reveal what he knew to the others?

-

Jack stormed back into the briefing room. The rollercoaster of emotion from watching his daughter almost dying in an isolation room was leaving him feeling irritable and out of control. Sam looked a bit unsure as well, as did General Hammond. As for Janet... one glance was enough for Jack to know that she felt terrible for what had almost happened. But it was Teal'c that really caught his eye. The Jaffa looked... impressed.

"So, Teal'c, something tells me you aren't thinking the same thing as the rest of us."

Teal'c bowed his head slightly to the Colonel, a small smile of admiration growing on his face. "I believe that BuffySummers has made her point, O'Neill."

Jack blinked, for a moment feeling as if the world had stopped. Teal'c couldn't be saying…

"She used mediation techniques to reduce her heart beat and provoke uncertainty and panic in her captors. It served to remind us that despite all our guesses we truthfully know very little of Buffy Summers and the enemy we face."

"She _planned_ that?!" Daniel exclaimed, "But that's…"

"The Jaffa know of various meditative states that can be used to give the user the appearance of death. Would it not be fair to say that a warrior of this Slayer's skill would not also have such knowledge?"

General Hammond nodded slowly. "Well, we have spent enough time discussing this. Captain Carter, Doctor Jackson, if you would like to start by questioning Mr Giles, Colonel, perhaps you and Teal'c could talk to Miss Summers. If she wants to be treated like an equal, do so, but I want answers. Doctor, how is Miss Rosenberg?"

"Recovering nicely, General. From the what Teal'c reported, I thought that there would be some damage to her back, but it seems that something cushioned the blow slightly. She's got a concussion and her left wrist is sprained, but she should be awake in half an hour or so."

"Good," the General responded, picking up his papers and standing. "You have an hour and a half, people, and then we'll reconvene to summarize our findings. If you discover anything of urgency before then, I'll be in my office."

-

Jack sighed as they headed down to the cell Buffy had been moved to. After Daniel's revelation about her strength, and Jack's own eye witness account of her skill in battle it had been deemed safer than one of the rooms. No one wanted for her to try and make a break for the surface injuring who knows how many guards in the process and a least the cells were harder to get out of. Having to break through steel bars without setting off alarms was beyond any physical skills she might have.

"So, Teal'c, any more advice to offer since you noticed her little 'treat me nicely' trick?"

"She is a warrior, O'Neill. That is true even if she is not the Slayer Daniel Jackson spoke of. If she is, she will have been fighting similar beings to those that have taken Dawn O'Neill for many years. If you do not respect that, she will not co-operate and we will learn nothing of use."

"Right."

Taking a deep breath, Jack signaled for the door to open and stepped in, his eyes going to the figure lounging on the small bed at the back of her cell. She glanced over at him as they entered and then turned back to staring at the wall.

"Hi," Jack began, grabbing a chair and pulling it closer to the cage, careful to stay out of reach. She might be his daughter, but if she was carrying a 'demon' in her then he didn't want to be too close.

"Hi," she answered, not looking at him. "Come to tell me about how I've been a bad girl and that you lot could have protected Dawn better than me and the others ever could?"

"No. Come to find out what's going on."

That got her attention and she sat up, swinging her legs down. For a minute she just watched him, before glancing up at the big guy. "You told them, huh?"

"I did." Teal'c responded. "They were concerned for you."

She gave a small smirk and leaned forwards resting her hands on her knees. "You do know that there's no point me telling you anything? You'll try to rationalize it and stick it into little boxes. We already tried with Daniel. He couldn't accept it."

Jack sat back, crossing his arms. "You already tried with Daniel… Of course you did… When exactly was that again?"

Buffy rolled her eyes. "He was with us for almost a day and you think he was out of it the whole time? Please!"

Jack shrugged, "So what, you just wiped his memory?"

"We don't do that sort of thing. Messing with people's memories is wrong."

"Well, how do you explain how Daniel has no memory of what happened, then?"

For a second, something flickered in Buffy's eyes before they went hard. Jack had only seen it for a moment, but in that second, he was sure it was understanding. She knew what had happened to Daniel to make him lose his memory… if he did lose it.

"I have no idea."

And wasn't that a big fat lie if he had ever heard one. "Buffy, look, we want to help Dawn as much as you do. So if you told us what was going on then we can sort it all out and…" Jack hesitated.

"And what?" Buffy asked calmly, "You're going to throw us in a cell? We don't have time for that, because depending on how long you lot knocked us out for we're looking at maybe half a day before the world ends."

Jack ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Buffy, look. We get that you know about these things, that out of our two groups your lot are the ones with all the knowledge. If you could just tell us what you know…"

Buffy looked at him, really looked at him, and Jack fell silent. She wasn't looking into him, or through him, she was looking at _him_. She was assessing him, trying to decide if he was trustworthy, or if he'd fail her when she needed it. He looked right back and he felt a faint bond of trust form between them.

"If I help you. If I give you all the information my group knows, all the aid we can offer, all our experience, I want some guarantees."

"Like what?"

Buffy glanced at Teal'c and then back to Jack, face set. "You follow my people's lead. If we say back off, you do, no questions asked. If we say this is a fact, you accept it and move on. I don't care what you do privately, what you think, what you talk about when we're not listening, but you assume that is a fact until after this mess is all over."

Jack leaned back. "That's asking a lot."

Buffy didn't blink at him, just turned her eyes to Teal'c who was watching quietly. "Is it a fair offer, Teal'c?"

"I believe it is, Buffy Summers."

She let out a small smile. "There you go then. See you when you get back."

Jack opened his mouth to complain, before accepting that she wouldn't say any more. She'd put down her terms and if they decided not to accept them it wasn't her fault. And now that he thought about it, maybe from her point of view it was reasonable. She was a leader, who was being asked to look after not only her own people, but a bunch of others who, as good as they were, had no idea what they were getting into. She wasn't getting the option of cutting them out, so she was making sure that they wouldn't cause trouble further down the line. He just wished it wasn't the SGC playing the talented but ignorant extras.

-

Janet checked the drip on Willow Rosenberg and stretched. She'd been watching the girl for any sign that she'd try anything similar to what Buffy had done, but as it was nothing seemed to be happening. The girl was just asleep and hadn't stirred once. Checking her pulse again, not risking the machines, she turned to give instructions to the duty nurse. She had time to do one last final check on Miss Summers' blood before the meeting with the General.

In the corner, Astral Willow gave one last look at her body before heading off in search of her friends. Her body was fine and she could get it out if necessary, but in the mean time she had to find her friends. With Dawn taken and Spike presumed dead, she needed to know what Buffy wanted to do now. She wondered if it would be anything like breaking out the mountain straight away or waiting until the soldiers had let their guard down. Either way, it would be fun to try out some of those new spells from the library. There were some extra nasty ones that looked interesting…


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

When Daniel and Sam had entered the room where Mr. Giles was waiting, they hadn't expected him to not react to their entrance at all. Instead, he seemed to be gazing thoughtfully at the wall and only turned to look at them when Daniel cleared his throat politely. He seemed startled for a second, and Sam noticed that his pupils seemed slightly dilated as if he had been looking into a bright light, before turning to them instead.

"Doctor Jackson and Captain Carter, I would say it is a pleasure to meet you but, quite frankly, under the current conditions I would have to say it is not."

Daniel sighed, taking a seat on the opposite side of the table from their 'guest'. "Mr Giles, we were hoping you could answer some questions for us…"

'Mr Giles' looked amused. "You must know that the chances of me answering anything of more importance than my preferred beverage are rather slim, particularly when you take into account your treatment of my companions and me."

Sam blinked. "Considering that you kidnapped the daughter of an Air Force Colonel, have hacked into US government files and shown that you have advanced technology at your disposal… you don't like the way we've treated you?"

Giles turned to look at her, a small smile on his face. "I and the children were quite ready to come quietly. There was no need to knock us out. Also, I tend to look poorly on anyone that tries to run tests on any of my charges. The last people to do that found that they did not like the consequences."

"That military group you've been involved in?" Daniel asked causally, "We saw a reference about that, but not many details."

"You wouldn't. The Government likes to cover up their mistakes, particularly ones that require a retired librarian, two college students, a carpenter and a soldier who went AWOL to fix them. Still, that wouldn't have been necessary if they had listened to the various warnings and advice people kept offering."

"Oh?" Daniel commented, leaning back. "What happened?"

Giles let out a short bitter laugh, "Don't think I don't know what you're trying to do, Doctor Jackson. However, in answer to your question, the military decided to disregard the information offered by an organization which had been studying the details of that particular field for the past millennia. They also attempted to eliminate Buffy because she asked too many questions about their intentions and succeeded in torturing one of the then current members of our group. It was a shocking example of military arrogance and something that almost upset the natural balance that prevents open war between humans and the other inhabitants of this planet - a war that no species could survive without horrendous losses."

"Is that why you didn't tell us what was happening? You know about the Stargate, so you must have known we'd be more likely to listen to you if you'd come to us... especially as you'd be able to offer proof." Sam asked curiously. It was the one thing that bothered her the most. How could they have just dismissed the SGC when they had gone through their files and learned how much experience and knowledge they had? After all, it wasn't as if they would have turned Dawn in. They protected their own - the incident with Teal'c should prove that.

"We didn't tell you what was happening because we were out of time. Had there not been that to consider, we would quite happily have gone through official channels… or as official as you can get in our line of work. As it is, there is still not time. Even if we tried to explain you would not have accepted it, you are too scientifically minded and we do not have the patience to phrase everything that needs to be said in a way that you would accept."

"How can you say that when you haven't had tried?" Sam protested, ignoring the way Daniel was shifting uneasily. "We deal with aliens - what could be more shocking than that?"

Giles blinked and shook his head. "I understand you are a scientist Captain, but really you should know better than to tempt Murphy like that." He paused for a second, a small smile on his lips. "As for what we have to say, I place my faith in Buffy. No doubt she will happily explain our terms should you choose to ask her - this is her 'show' as you might say."

For a second, Daniel and Sam stared at the man, taking in his clear dismissal. Then, sharing a glance, the pair stood and headed towards the door. It was clear they weren't going to get anything more out of him, but they had gotten some information. That stuff about the military interacting with them before sounded particularly useful… after all, it meant that someone must have heard of the group so maybe there was chance they could still get answers.

-

Dawn forced herself to remain sitting up straight and glared harder at the woman / man / thing in front of her. It was dressed in a brown style robe and looked a bit like a picture she'd seen when she was younger. It had been of the troll that hides under a bridge, and she could remember the little head that stuck out as the goat tried to cross. She'd thought it was ugly then too. Now however, she had to put up with them fussing around, trying to get her anointed and dressed in their stupid medieval dress thing…

"Now what's all the fuss about?"

Dawn spun around to see the first human being since she had woken up. She stepped back, noting the way that the mini troll things were bowing down and muttering stuff about… Goddess. They were calling her a goddess. Maybe this was the Hell God thing that was mentioned, the Goa'uld that believed she was this Key! Dawn felt a deep anger well up, unlike anything she'd felt before and leapt at the woman, intent only on inflicting pain.

Three seconds later, she was intent only on the pain as she went flying into a wall. Curling in on herself, she clutched at her arm, momentarily forgetting where she was in the sharp pain that was coming from her elbow.

"Now that really wasn't nice."

Dawn looked up, blinking back tears at the voice. The woman was speaking, but it wasn't in the strange double tones that Sam's dad made when he visited. It was in a normal voice. That wasn't right.

"Here I am coming to see you, and you attack me! I mean talk about ungrateful…" She walked over and picked Dawn up by her injured arm, almost causing her to pass out from the pain. Dragging her over to a nearby chair, she put Dawn in it and stood pouting down at her. "Don't you want to have your real life back? Be free again?"

Right then the only thing Dawn wanted was her Dad and Janet to take away the pain. "What are you going on about?"

The lady blinked, a small slightly evil smile spreading across her face. "You mean to tell me that no ones told you? That they've tried to keep what you really are a secret? But that's great! It's the perfect way to spend your last five hours - telling you all about what you really are…" She hesitated and the leaned forward, smiling evilly. "You see your story starts with a bunch of monks in a little abbey. They were the Guardians of the Key, a source of power capable of tearing down all the walls between dimensions…"

-

Willow tilted her head to examine the corridor. She could sense the others; Xander and Anya were stuck in a room a couple of meters to her left while Giles was too her right. Buffy though, Buffy was down stairs. Chewing on her lip thoughtfully, Willow decided that it would be best to check in with their unofficial group leader and maybe reset up the telepathy spell. That way if her friends got into any trouble it would be easier for them to call her.

-

In the briefing room, Jack, Teal'c and the General waited for Sam and Daniel to head up. They had just finished explaining Buffy's terms to General Hammond and just as predicted, General Hammond was not happy. The SGC was a top secret government program with a lot of resources… putting it in the hands of a teenager, even one with the abilities that Doctor Jackson had mentioned, did not sit right.

"Colonel, what do you think of all this?"

Jack grimaced. "Well sir, as far as I can tell she's the leader of their little group and she knows a lot about what's going on and as much as I hate to say it, she has a point."

General Hammond blinked. Colonel O'Neill agreeing with her, even if it was only a little bit, was not what he had expected. "Oh?"

"She obviously knows what she's doing and what we do, but she thinks the two things are different enough for us to be out of our depth… and when you look at how the things that were at the battle were mostly immune to guns and zats, then she might have a point."

General Hammond hesitated, fiddling with a pen in his pocket. "Very well, we'll see what Captain Carter and Doctor Jackson found out from Mr Giles before going over how far we are willing to accept her demands."

"Demands?"

The room's occupants turned to see Doctor Jackson had just come down the stairs with Captain Carter just behind him. He'd obviously caught the end of their exchange and wanted to know what he had missed.

"Well Danny, it seems Buffy wants us to hand control of this operation to her and her people, take 'everything' that she says as fact and basically do what she says when she says it. Did I leave anything out, T?"

"I do not believe you did O'Neill, however I must point out that she also requested that if she tells us to 'back off' then we must do so under her terms."

George Hammond sat back, "Nevertheless, those are her terms. What did Mr Giles say?"

Daniel sighed and shared a look with Sam who answered the General's question. "Well, Rupert Giles did give us some more information on the military group they were involved in, sir. He also implied that because of the work we do with aliens we'd be less likely to accept what they work with. The most shocking bit was how he told us quite firmly that he would follow Buffy in this. Now I get what he meant."

Daniel nodded, "There were a couple of other things, though, that indicate good reason for him and his group to have a good level of distrust with the military. Not only did he assume that we were running tests on his 'charges', but he claimed that the previous group disregarded their warnings as well as attempting to torture and/or kill them. He stated that point more than once and it looks like they view the military as being a group or people who refuse to listen to reason and tend to screw up a lot, and like to pick fights."

"Ouch," Jack commented. "I don't suppose they'll make an exception because we're air force?"

Daniel raised an eyebrow. "You don't think they've already made concessions? They're offering to let us help them, basically volunteering to work with a group they don't trust and, despite everything, they haven't done anything hostile to us."

Jack rolled his eyes. "No, they've treated us like children. We can't be trusted to know what's going on. We wouldn't understand what they do despite the fact we deal with aliens everyday. Everything would be much easier if we just stayed out of their business."

Daniel raised an eyebrow. "You know we've been so busy trying to find them and get Dawn back that we're forgetting a few things."

General Hammond decided that was the time to interfere. "Like what, Doctor?"

"Well for a start, what would have happened if they hadn't stepped in when they did? Who would have gotten to Dawn first? Then there is the issue that, although we know that we're looking at a potential foothold and a bunch of cultists after Dawn, we're going after the people who have only expressed a desire to keep Dawn safe."

Sam blinked. "All the leads we could find were on them so we practically ignored the other two groups…"

"…because we couldn't find any information." Daniel finished. "Looking at what we know, the people locked in the holding room aren't the threat. The people who presumably have Dawn now are."


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

Willow drifted down to find her friend in a small cell, lying on a narrow bed with her eyes closed against the corridor lights. She grinned at the miffed look which was emphasized by the pout that was firmly on Buffy's lips.

_"Hey Buffy,"_ she called, her mind brushing that of her friends. _"What's with the long face?"_

Buffy blinked, but the usual small smile she gained around her friends never appeared. _"Oh you know, nothing much. Making demands, playing nice with the military, finding out that apparently Daniel doesn't remember anything… But how are you? Are you OK? And what about the others?"_

Willow settled her astral form on the bed, raising an eyebrow when her friend twitched slightly. _"I've felt better but I'm up for a quick break out if needed. As for the others, I thought I'd stop by here first, see how you were…"_

Buffy finally let out a small smile and sat up. _"Thanks for the concern, but the military aren't going to hurt us. Maybe chuck us into a deep hole but…"_ an expression flickered across her face and she sighed. _"Don't do anything to them for now, but I could do with a demonstration when the military finally decide to try and play nice. You think you're up for that?"_

Willow shrugged, and then remembered that she was invisible to her friend. _"Sure. I'll check on the others now and get back to you when the telepath spell's set up again. See you in a minute."_

She drifted away and Buffy relaxed back on her bed. Behind her, the weird feeling that was apparently Willow drifted away. She would so have to talk to Giles about what was going on with the young witch. Maybe all that studying was just like Willow, but Spike had warned her that not all of them were considered nice. She had to know what Willow had been studying - even if it was showing a lack of trust and a betrayal of their friendship. After all, she didn't want Willow ending up like Catherine…

-

Jack was not happy with this, not happy at all. Still, a deal was a deal and the General had decided that if they were going to get any information they should play along… for now at least. So that was why SG1 was waiting for the guards to finish escorting his daughter and her friends to the briefing room. They had to all play nice until they got the information. After that, they'd hold up their end of the deal but there were a number of loop holes they could use. That one about how members of the military couldn't be placed under the command of a civilian was a useful one for starters.

He turned at the sound of a ringing from the General's office and turned towards it, an eyebrow raised. General Hammond noticed it as well and strode into his office, the slight hesitation in his step enough to make Jack curious. Casually, he wandered over to the door and glanced inside from the corner of his eye, being careful to look like he was _not_ eavesdropping. After all, you didn't spy on your boss, spying was wrong and…

"Yes, Mr. President. The report should be on your desk within the week."

That was the President. That meant that George was on the Red Phone. He was getting a call from the President himself and whatever he was being called about, it was not making George a happy camper. In fact, General Hammond looked like he did when Daniel did one of his 'I'm a civilian stunts - you can't court martial me' or when Jack did something that was dangerously close to being insubordinate. It was a look Jack had learned meant 'Stop this madness and act like officers' or 'If you don't stop this I am going to lock you all in a cell and leave you there'. Only George couldn't say that to the President so that probably explained his face.

Jack stepped back, glancing at the rest of SG1 and saw that Teal'c at least could hear what was happening. Carter was flicking through some papers muttering about it being a load of rubbish while Daniel was sitting in his chair frowning up at the grey roof. All of them looked about as enthused as Jack felt although Jack knew that as soon as they got talking Daniel would go into his 'diplomat mode'. Teal'c would be as stoic as ever and Carter would follow orders and try to keep a neutral face… that just meant he had to keep calm and collected as he listen to his _civilian_ daughter giving orders to one of the most advanced military units in the world.

Yep - easy as pie.

-

"With all due respect, Mr President, I assure you we don't need…"

"George, this isn't about whether you can handle it or not. This is about calling in the people that have a hell of a lot more experience. If Buffy Summers is involved in this then it's big, and I'm not going to risk this planet because a group of officers made a bad decision."

General Hammond stiffened. "Mr President…"

"Don't worry George; I'm not talking about the SGC. Just… play nice with the team that's coming. And try not to annoy Miss Summers or her people. That's an order." The President sounded stressed, almost as stressed as the time…

"Mr President…"

The dial tone alerted General Hammond to the fact that he'd just been hung up on - and by the President, no less. Calmly placing the phone back in its cradle, he eased himself into his chair and thought about taking a large gulp from the bottle hidden in his desk.

It was days like this that he really wished he'd just gone into retirement.

-

On the other side of the base, the invisible form of Willow put the final touches on the spell that would link all the Scoobies telepathically. She would have liked to link Spike in as well, considering how he was playing for the home team and all, but even in her astral form she couldn't get to Sunnydale and back quick enough - and that was where they were supposed to meet up if anything went wrong. It was such a pity that it was so far away, after all the books had been very specific about what happened if you got too far from your body. The link tying your spirit to it broke and you were left to spend the rest of eternity as a poltergeist. Willow so did not want that. She wouldn't be able to help Tara.

Tara…

Knowing that the others would call her if she was needed, Willow drifted back towards the hospital wing where Tara was sleeping. The doctor had drugged her after she'd woken up and started screaming and scratching at them so Willow didn't really blame them. It just hurt to see her girlfriend in that state. Knowing that she was like that because Willow had got close to her, introduced her to the Scoobies' dangerous world, knowing that it was her fault her girlfriend was this violent, restless, crazy person instead of her true sweet self, hurt her a lot. Reaching out an insubstantial hand, she ran it down Tara's cheek smiling through watery eyes as the girl snuggled towards her. She would find away to fix this. She would.

-

Major Riley Finn glanced back as the rest of his team exited the chopper. Knowing that they were going into Air Force territory (and Sam's warning to be good) had meant that he had only brought five others with him… and only three of those were 'hunters'. As it was though, he was unsure about bringing Vince Trulton along. The man was one of the best hunters they had and coped well with the various things they ran into… but unlike Graham and the other Sunnydale veteran, Daniel Pewter, he was very biased in his thinking. Basically if it wasn't human, it wasn't trustworthy. Riley could just imagine how that attitude would go down with Buffy.

On the other hand, Professor Matton, their watcher type, and Marion, the team's witch, should get along fine with the Scoobies. Marion was very enthusiastic and had a Willow like tendency to babble while Matton was a virtual encyclopaedia. They were also very much in the mind set of 'I'm a civilian and proud of it' which Riley knew would be a big win over with Buffy. He doubted she'd forgiven Walsh for trying to kill her yet - even if the woman was dead.

"So Finn, any idea how you're going to tell Buffy about Sam?"

Riley shuddered at Graham's reminder. Although he and Buffy had separated, he wasn't looking forward to telling her about Sam. Buffy had a temper and the few remaining spies they had in Sunnydale all warned that she was getting dangerously close to her breaking point. Riley did not want to be the one that pushed her over the edge or the one that caused her to go into a Slayer Temper Tantrum. She was brutal enough when she was in full control and not trying to hurt anyone.

"No, you sure you won't be my back up?"

Graham shook his head. "It's a private thing. Besides someone will have to run interference with her friends - unless, of course, you want them to come in while she's yelling at you. I'm sure it could be arranged."

Riley pulled a hurt face at his friend and turned to see Dan and Vince jogging over, the Professor and Marion just behind them. He smiled, before catching the look on Marion's face. "What's wrong?"

She hesitated, her eyes flickering over to where the airmen who were guarding the pad were watching. "Sorry, I just feel a little… uneasy."

Riley's eyes narrowed at the unspoken warning. The fact that Marion wasn't actually coming out and saying what was wrong meant that it was something to do with the Supernatural and her own abilities. Well, he hadn't been told exactly what these people dealt with. That briefing was to be saved for when they were inside as well as their own briefing on the sort of things they dealt with. That reminded him…

"Trulton? You got that case?"

Vince nodded, holding it up for Riley to see. Riley relaxed slightly. "Good. I don't want that thing getting lost. They have enough trouble looking for them without us adding to it."

"Sure, sir."

-

Buffy stretched as the guard finished unlocking her cell. She smirked slightly at the way the guards had left - only to stop just out of sight around the corner. The single remaining guard motioned for her to follow him out and she did, her sensitive hearing picking up on the footsteps of the guys following them. Really, these corridors echoed slightly… even a normal person would probably have picked up on the fact that they were being followed.

-

Xander and Anya were enjoying a very passionate kiss. Anya had complained loudly about how she was bored and how there was nothing to do… and had finally persuaded Xander to help her out with it. Of course, she'd got rid of the guards first. Anya _was_ learning about human behaviour and even she knew that some things were done better in private. After all, it was easier if your partner wasn't distracted by an audience…

Xander, on the other hand, had done his best to ignore her at first. The fact that they were in a secure room in a military base was putting his soldier part on edge, add on the fact that there was a couple of conveniently placed pictures and no visible cameras and he was pretty sure they were being observed in some way. Then Anya had started doing that thing with her lip and… Oh well. He wasn't military and neither was Anya so as long as they kept all clothes on and didn't go too far, what was the harm?

Then, of course, the guard had to come in when Anya was sitting on his lap, her legs around his waist…


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

In Xander and Anya's cell, Xander tried to jerk away from Anya to face the airman. The man was doing his best to be professional and had fixed his gaze on the far wall, about a meter above the pair. The problem was, Anya had other ideas. She wanted to finish her kiss and wasn't quite ready to let her boyfriend get away. They had started and they would finish. Anya had decided.

When she finally let go a minute later, Xander had a dazed look on his face for a few seconds before it changed to a look of annoyance and embarrassment. "Anya!"

Anya just looked at him, smirking. Xander would have said more but the airman interrupted. "Sir, Ma'am, if you could come with me please?"

Xander sent Anya another glare before standing and heading over to the door, shooting annoyed glances at Anya. Anya only smirked and followed him putting a little extra sway into her hips as she went. It was worth it.

-

In the small room she had been given, Dawn huddled in a corner whimpering. She really wanted to believe that 'Glory' was wrong, but looking back… there were inconstancies. She remembered how bad her Dad had felt at Charlie's death… but he would never have accepted what amounted to a suicide mission if it meant leaving her behind. Then there was the whole 'Dad getting custody' thing… he was in the air force and definitely not in the sanest frame of mind yet he still managed to get custody of her. There hadn't been any court case, any argument from her mom and she knew that Sara had loved her. Could that be why she hadn't seen her mom since the divorce? Why it was as if her mom had just forgotten about her? Could it all be because she hadn't been real?

It had to be. Sara had never asked about her because she wasn't even real. Her Dad had got custody because a bunch of stupid monks decided that he would be the best person to look after her - her Dad would probably have given her up for adoption if he had a choice. He wouldn't have though he was fit to be a parent. Not after Charlie…

The thought caused Dawn's eyes to well up with tears as she remembered those horrible days where her brother had died. It had been like she was a ghost, wondering around with no one able to see her - too wrapped up in their own pain to remember the elder sister. They hadn't cared about her. They hadn't cared because she hadn't been real, she hadn't been there, and all the memories she had were fakes put in by the monks to torture her. Had any of it been real? Had she ever played with her Dad or her uncle Teal'c or had she just appeared in the middle of school with a bunch of fake memories?

Was she even real now?

Suddenly Dawn had the urge to prove that she was real. She needed people to know she was there - that she was alive. She needed someone to be there. She needed someone to treat her as if she was alive... as if she was real. She needed someone to remember that she had a will of her own, and that she couldn't be put away in a room until they were ready to use her. She would make things as difficult as she could for them – starting with their plan to keep her sealed away.

Taking a small sip from the plastic cup of water they had given her, she cleared her throat and took a deep breath. Even if they were sealed away where no one would hear her screaming, the guards at least would and Dawn knew just how irritating constant screeching could be.

-

Riley Finn was shown into the briefing room where he was met by the wary stares of the four people who were apparently the premier team and their general. It was nothing new to Riley. He'd given a few of these talks to various groups and they were normally… annoyed… when outside experts were called in to do 'their' job. This was nothing new, well, except for the fact that the Scooby gang were involved. That could make things just a little bit more complicated. Not to mention he had to talk to Buffy still…

Speaking of which... The Slayer was walking in now and Riley felt the familiar reminder at just how small she was. Running his eyes over her form, he frowned at how thin she looked. She clearly hadn't been taking care of herself properly and even her hair and makeup - normally perfect - looked as if she hadn't done anything in the last few days. She was almost a completely different person to the bubbly college girl he'd first fallen in love with.

"Riley."

The single word was filled with regret and sadness, and a weakness that he'd never heard from her before. She was meant to be the strong one, the super hero but now as he looked up at her face, he didn't see that woman. Instead, she looked… defeated. You wouldn't know it if this was the first time you'd seen her - but the spark that showed her commitment, her faith in her duty, was gone. She looked empty and it scared Riley. This was not the strong confident woman he'd come to know and love.

Shaking himself out of it, he gave her a small smile and stepped forward. "Buffy. Good to see you again."

She quirked her lips and gave a nod to Graham who returned it. Then she turned to the General, who was watching closely, ignoring his team. "So you've decided to accept my offer?"

"The President has decided that we are to accept your… offer Miss Summers. Our resources will be placed under the control of an outside team who you will be working with. Any orders you give are to be confirmed by them."

"Of course," The voice came from the stairs and announced the arrival of the rest of Miss Summer's group. "Can't give all the super military weapons to a bunch of civilians after all, we might go mad and start shooting people."

Giles rolled his eyes at the comment and Riley managed a small smile. It seemed that some things hadn't changed. "Xander, witty as ever."

Xander rolled his eyes. "Naturally, someone has to stop everyone sinking into depression."

The slight flicker in his gaze towards Buffy was enough to confirm Riley's suspicions and his lips narrowed as he took that in. Glancing over at Buffy, he saw her shoot him with a look and caught Xander shrug unapologetically out of the corner of his eye. Giles looked concerned and that did not bring confidence. Something had changed obviously and Riley wanted to know what it was. If the Scooby Gang was breaking down then everyone could be at risk…

-

Back in Sunnydale, Spike was lurking around Glory's base. It was surrounded by the few crazy people that hadn't found their way to Sunnydale General Hospital which put a damper on Spike's shaky plan to break in and grab Dawn. So for now, he was focusing on gathering intel... and he had spent way too much time around Captain Cardboard if he was talking about 'intel'. This would do no good for his reputation – especially with how shaky it was after siding with the Slayer.

Spike sighed as he stood to head back to where Faith and Angel were covering Buffy's home. Maybe the others had checked in or something, or maybe Faith wanted some company on patrol. Without a way to pin point Dawn's location, this was getting boring... almost at that exact moment, a scream split the air. Spike grinned. Buffy's sister definitely had a pair of lungs on her and now he could confirm that she was in there – and relatively healthy. No, there wasn't the sweet note of fear or the slightly sharper one of agony in that scream – it was all pure anger.

Leaving with a bounce in his step, Spike headed back to 'home base', wondering how long it would be until the Scoobies tried to contact him. When they did, he hoped they'd be happy with his info.

-

Jack watched the two groups reunite with slightly narrowed eyes. So this was the contact they'd have got to pull them out... although how he'd have managed Jack wasn't sure. Still, the Scoobies seemed to trust him, and there was a lot of subtext. Unresolved issues and concerns were being shared out around the room like free beer, with most of them; Jack was sure; involving his daughter.

"So now we're altogether and the introductions are out the way, maybe we can get on to the part where you tell us what's going on?"

The room fell silent, with Finn's group turning to the kid's group, and the kid's turning to Finn's. After a second, Xander, joker face on, made a sweeping bow to the Major.

"Go ahead Riley, I'm sure you brought loads of cool props and things."

'Riley' seemed to straighten up with a nod, his eyes serious with none of the greeting that had been there before. Jack straightened up as well, and noticed that the change in Finn's stance had been copied by everyone in the room – except the kid's. The message was clear. This was serious now.

Reaching into his briefcase, he took out two videos – handing one to his second and leaving the other on the desk. This was followed by a pile of non-disclosure forms which he handed out to the SGC people. Jack glanced at the General and raised an eyebrow. Hammond ignored him, but turned to Major Finn anyway.

"Major, I'm not sure you are aware of what we do here, but i can assure you that we've all signed these forms before."

Finn gave the General a tight smile. "Not these ones Sir, there are some unique changes to them."

Jack saw Giles pick a spare up curiously from the pile and take a quick look at it. His eyes widened as he did so and he sent a quick smile at the woman who had been introduced as 'Marion'. She smirked back at him and Giles put the paper down before whispering something to Buffy. She blinked, before allowing a smile to spread over her face. Jack, with a strange feeling in his gut, he looked over the document again, his eyes going to a double line at the end that wasn't normally there.

_The United States Government shall have the right to ensure that the terms of the above agreement are observed by all parties in whichever way they see fit short of 24 hour surveillance._

Considering it for a second, he mentally shrugged, before signing. It was nice of them to stipulate that they wouldn't spy on him 24/7 but he wasn't sure what they planned to do instead. Still, he wanted this information and if signing this would get it for him then he'd sign it. He could think more about what it meant later.

Glancing at the others, he handed his to Finn before leaning back in h chair and waiting for Daniel to sign his own form. The man had clearly just finished reading through it fully (well probably skimmed in detail knowing Daniel) and was about to sign. Jack watched as he did so, before turning to Finn with a raising an eyebrow.

"So Finn, now that we've signed our souls away, what's the info."

Jack caught the look that the others shared before focusing back on Finn as he began speaking. This was going to be interesting, he could tell.

-

Back in Sunnydale, Dawn was about to start screaming again, when the door opened and Glory stormed in. She looked furious, but her gaze seemed to soften slightly when she took in Dawn's dishevelled state.

"Oh my dear, I should have realised that you wouldn't want to be left alone after such a revelation. It is probably a shock finding out just how far above the muck you are. Come, you can sit and watch me while I get fitted for my robes. We can talk about girly things and bond..."

Dawn stared at the crazy goddess, unable to get a sound out. She had to be joking...


	24. Hiatus Notice

**Hiatus Notice**

It is with great regret that I must sadly put this story on hold. I will possibly be able to upload another chapter in the Summer Holidays, but with my current load of school work (and it's only going to increase as we get closer to exam time) I simply don't have time to work on this story.

If I do update, it will probably be on TTHfanfic . org. I admit I like the upload format on there a lot better, and it doesn't get rid of any of my lines or formatting. I will try and post on both sites though, so at the very least you should get a message pointing you there. It's under the same name and I'm pretty sure you can follow it through the categories if you want to check it out in the meantime.

Anyway, a big thank you to all my reviewers and everyone who's given me advice. In particular, HUGE thank yous to:

**Taeniaea,**** B Oots, ****Cylon One****, DragonStar, Reven Eid **and** Ellyanah**

Between the 6 of you you cover 42 out of my 57 reviews! That's... 74% of all my comments are from you guys!

Anyway, see you in the Summer.

**DreamOfStories**


End file.
